HCM CITY — Five veteran cải lương (reformed theatre) actresses will perform in a special show at HCM City’s Công Nhân Theatre on Tuesday night.   

The 90-minute concert, Đêm Toàn Nữ Ban (Night of Female Performers), will feature cải lương stars Thanh Hằng, Phương Hồng Thủy, Thoại Mỹ, Phượng Hằng and Phượng Loan, together with younger colleagues from traditional art troupes.  

Famous in the 1990s, the actresses have played an important role in the development of the arts.

The women will stage popular extracts from historical plays such as Thái Hậu Dương Vân Nga (Queen Dương Vân Nga), Tiếng Trống Mê Linh (Mê Linh’s Drum) and Câu Thơ Yên Ngựa (Writing Poems on Horseback)

Songs composed by veteran artists Nguyễn Văn Tý, Viễn Chinh, Hàn Châu and Mặc Thế Nhân will also be featured.

“We will organise the show every month in a professional way because we want it to be quality art,” said Meritorious Artist Hữu Quốc, the show’s organiser.  

Quốc said he wanted to feature veteran actresses who have devoted their life to art.  

“We also hope our performance will encourage young people to learn more about cải lương, a unique and traditional art form in the south,” said 48-year-old Meritorious Thoại Mỹ from the Trần Hữu Trang Theatre.

Mỹ was sent to study cải lương at the theatre when she was at 12 years old, and later played leading roles in more than 80 plays and film videos.

She also earned dozens of top prizes at theatre festivals and competitions, including Trần Hữu Trang Prize for Best Actress presented by the HCM City Theatre Association in 1992 and Golden Prize for Best Actress at the National Professional Cải Lương Festival organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2004 and 2005.

The show Đêm Toàn Nữ Ban will begin at 8pm on August 23 at Công Nhân Theatre, 30 Trần Hưng Đạo Street, District 1. Tickets are available at the box office. — VNS