Young artists of private theatres in HCM City are working on new plays about social issues by People’s Artist and famous theatre director Trần Ngọc Giàu. Photo courtesy of the producer

By Thu Anh 

HCM CITY —  Young artists from the HCM City-based private drama stage TKC are working on a new play about social issues by People’s Artist and famous theatre director Trần Ngọc Giàu.  

The play Khát Vọng Ngày Mai (Aspiration for the Future), a production written by Trần Văn Hưng, won the National Creative Competition for Artists in Theatre and Music award launched by the HCM City Union of Literature & Arts Association last year. 

The 120-minute play features a group of young engineers and workers in HCM City who are helping to build the first train for the city’s Metro Line No 1 from Bến Thành Market in District 1 to Suối Tiên Theme Park in District 9. 

Construction of the metro line is expected to be completed within the next few months, with services to be underway by the end of next year. It will have 14 stations, three of them underground. It will have 17 trains with three carriages each that will run at a maximum speed of 110km/h above ground and 80km/h below ground.

Artists perform in Khát Vọng Ngày Mai (Aspiration for the Future), a 120-minute production written by Trần Văn Hưng, winner of the National Creative Competition for Artists in Theatre and Music launched by the HCM City Union of Literature & Arts Association last year. Photo courtesy of the producer

In the play, Khát Vọng Ngày Mai, realistic images of Vietnamese people, particularly youth who are now working in a global economy, are featured. Through their work, Vietnamese culture and lifestyle are also highlighted. 

“Khát Vọng Ngày Mai is a story of young people in HCM City who have different opportunities to be free to work, devote, talk, share and love together for a better life here,” said the play’s scriptwriter Hưng in his interview with the Người Lao Động (Labourer) newspaper. 

“Artists of the TKC will offer drama in the style of the South. I’m very happy to be involved in producing my work on stage. I believe young artists will bring a lively taste of drama to audiences,” he added.

Khát Vọng Ngày Mai features 20 actors, including young talents Thiện Nhân and Uyên Nhi. 

“I asked my actors to learn about HCM City and its culture and people. This helped to breathe life into the play,” said actress and theatre producer Trịnh Kim Chi, owner of the TKC Drama Troupe. 

Artists of the TKC private drama stage. Photo courtesy of the producer

Begun in 2015, the TKC offers shows staged especially to serve children and young people. The theatre’s shows have attracted nearly 10,000 audiences. 

“Through our troupe, we want to promote and develop drama among young people, particularly children, who can learn new things about history, culture and traditional lifestyle through our shows,” said Chi, who has worked for 20 years in theatre and film.

“Although I know that I would face challenges, I believe in the future.”  

Another play being staged is Người Nô Làng Hồng Phúc (Farmers in Hồng Phúc Village) by director Giàu. The work features southern farmers in the Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta region. 

It is staged by musical artists of Buffalo Theatre Club, a private theatre opened in 2013 to support young actors and bring musical theatre closer to audiences. The theatre is known for staging Vietnamese versions of original musicals, such as Chicago, Red Snow and High Musical Music.

The play also features artists of the Bông Sen Music and Dance Theatre. 

“Farmers and their life will be staged in musical style in Người Nô Làng Hồng Phúc by director Giàu, a veteran in drama and cải lương (reformed opera). I think it will make theatregoers curious,” said Thanh Hiệp, a theatre critic of the city’s Theatre Artists Association.

Khát Vọng Ngày Mai and Người Nô Làng Hồng Phúc are expected to be released in April. —VNS