NEW STYLE: Cải lương star Võ Minh Lâm (first from leftl) and young talents work to bring new styles of Vietnamese theatre closer to young audiences. — Photo courtesy of HCM City Theatre Artists’ Association

HCM CITY — Cải lương (reformed opera) star Võ Minh Lâm has challenged himself by directing a drama show in HCM City next week.

The actor and his young staff are working on an experimental play combining cải lương, a 100-year-old traditional theatre genre of the South, and Vietnamese drama.

His show, Mặt Nạ Da Người (Human Skin Mask), is based on the 2012 crime thriller film called Pietà, a production by well-known Korean director Kim Ki-duk.

The film depicts the mysterious relationship between Kang-do, a brutal man who works for loan sharks, and Mi-sun, a middle-aged woman who claims that she is his mother.

The tragic story includes Christian symbolism and violence content.

It won the top Golden Lion prize at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in 2012.

In the Vietnamese drama version Mặt Nạ Da Người, director Lâm uses new elements from the drama form of tragedy in French theatre.

The show deals with love and betrayal, payback and rebirth.

Lâm uses his young colleagues, such as Cao Thúy Vy, Hà Phương Lê and Hòa Thuận, as lead characters.

MULTI-TALENTED: Theatre actor and director Võ Minh Lâm of HCM City. Photo courtesy of HCM City Theatre Artists’ Association

“As a director, I will try my best to bring the new and modern style of drama to theatregoers," said 36-year-old Lâm, who is also the play’s producer. “I hope my art will encourage young people to love Vietnamese theatre.”

Lâm, a son of the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Cần Thơ, won first prize for male artist at Chuông Vàng (Golden Bell) in 2006, a national cải lương singing contest organised annually by HCM City Television.

With his strong voice and rapid improvement in performance skills, Lâm soon became a bright star in cải lương.

He works for leading art troupes, including Đại Việt Theatre and Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre.

He has played leading roles in several dramas and performed in many TV shows and videos.

Lâm is working for a TV programme about Vietnamese theatre entitled Sao Nối Ngôi (Bright Stars) that was produced and aired on Vĩnh Long Television’s THLV1 channel.

The programme began in 2016 and featuring cải lương and tuồng or hát bội (classical drama), traditional theatre genres from the southern and central regions.

It has offered many shows staged by veteran and young actors, and has attracted millions of people in HCM City and the region back to Vietnamese theatre.

“I wanted to devote all my love and energy to the stage. Working as a director is a big chance for me to improve my skills and learn more from my colleagues, older and younger artists,” said Lâm.

Lâm’s Mặt Nạ Da Người is scheduled to be staged on February 24 at Trần Hữu Trang Theatre, 136 Trần Hưng Đạo Street, District 1. — VNS