HCM CITY— HCM City art troupes and cultural centres will offer several shows to celebrate the annual Buddhist holiday of Vu Lan, an event that eulogises motherly love, held annually in the seventh month of the lunar calendar.  

Most of the shows will begin this weekend and continue until the mid-September.     

District 9’s Suối Tiên Tourist Park will launch a programme called Vu Lan Báo Hiếu (Showing Gratitude in Vu Lan) featuring culinary parties and stage plays that highlight people’s gratitude to and appreciation of their mothers.

Cải lương (reformed theatre) stars like Võ Minh Luân and Hương Xuân of Trần Hữu Trang Theatre will perform for free on the occasion to encourage young people to love and respect their mothers.

The programme will begin tomorrow and run through the day of Vu Lan, September 5. It is expected to attract more than 40,000 visitors, including several hundred Buddhists, from the city and neighbouring provinces.

Dozen of young actors will visit the Artists Pagoda and Nhật Quang Tự (Sunlight Pagoda) in Gò Vấp District on August 26 to participate in a special show celebrating Vu Lan.

They will stage a series of extracts from popular plays featuring historic events and heroines, such as Thái Hậu Dương Vân Nga (Queen Dương Vân Nga) and Trưng Nữ Vương (Trưng Sisters).

The artists will show their deep respect for veteran actresses, such as Phùng Há and Thanh Nga, who are great symbols of cải lương, a traditional art of South Việt Nam.

They will also offer donations to the pagoda, the only one of its kind in the region that contains a cemetery devoted to cải lương and tuồng (classical drama) performers.

The Sài Gòn Drama Theatre will stage a new play featuring mother’s love during the festival season. Directed by People’s Artist Trần Ngọc Giàu, the play, Bông Hồng Trắng (White Rose), is about a poor mother who makes sacrifices for her daughter.

It also features the law of cause and effect, and how this influences all areas of life. 

“Vu Lan is a time for people, especially youth, to look back and remember their mother’s love and sacrifices," the play’s director Giàu said. 

“We’re not looking to make profits from our art, but merely hope to encourage young people to love and respect their mothers.”  

Bông Hồng Trắng will be staged at 8pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night at 130 Cao Thắng Street in District 3.— VNS