FOLK TALES: Theatres in HCM City offer plays based on Vietnamese folk tales during the Tết (Lunar New Year) break, which begins on January 29. Photo courtesy of HCM City Theatre Association.

HCM CITY— Theatre artists of HCM City are performing in new experimental plays featuring Southern culture and costumes during the Tết (Lunar New Year) festival. 

Young performers from the private Đồng Ấu- Bạch Long Troupe play in a series of tuồng (classical drama) shows based on Vietnamese fairy tales and legends. Tết traditions are also included. 

Their highlighted work features the stories of Ông Táo (Kitchen God), one of Tết’s important rituals which signals the start of Tết preparations. 

In Vietnamese tradition, every family has three kitchen gods, two husbands and one wife called in Vietnamese “hai ông một bà”, overseeing the household’s affairs.

On the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, each kitchen god returns to the Jade Emperor, the King of Heaven, on the back of a carp fish. They report back to the Jade Emperor on each family’s affairs for that past year. People clean their houses and offer sacrifices to aid the gods’ journey and ensure a good report.

“We hope the traditional culture and lifestyle will attract audiences. My young staff provide interesting stories, and new, modern styles," said the play’s director Bạch Long. 

Đồng Âu Bạch Long Troupe opened in 1992 and features 20 young actors, mostly graduates of leading art schools in the region. 

Its founder, Long, has more than 40 years in tuồng, a gerne of Vietnamese theatre that consists of singing and dancing accompanied by music, and is highly stylised and filled with symbolism.

Long and his artists have worked to bring tuồng with new concepts to meet the taste of young audiences.  

EXPERIMENTL PLAYS: Artists from the private Đồng Ấu Bạch Long Troupe perform a series of new experimental plays about Vietnamese culture and costumes celebrating the Tết (Lunar New Year) in HCM City. Photo courtesy of Đồng Ấu Bạch Long Troupe.

Theatre stars Võ Minh Lâm and Tú Sương perform in Mai Trắng Se Duyên (Love Bridge), a production staged by the Huỳnh Long Tuồng Troupe.

Their show features cải lương (reformed opera), a 100-year-old theatre of the South.  

Love, bravery and patriotism based on folk stories are highlighted. 

“We will offer a new style of cải lương combined with modern concepts in structure, conversation and directing style,” said actor Lâm, winner of the Chuông Vàng (Golden Bell) in 2006, a national cải lương singing contest organised annually by HCM City Television. 

According to Lâm, only quality shows bring cải lương closer to youngsters. “I will bring the unique tunes of traditional theatre to audiences,” he said.   

The plays by Đồng Ấu-Bạch Long and Huỳnh Long take place at 5pm and 8pm daily during the Tết break, starting on January 29, at 55B Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Street in District 3 and 170 Kinh Dương Vương Street, District 6. – VNS