The play King Oedipus by the Hà Nội Academy of Theatre and Cinema's students will be performed at the 6th Asian Theatre Schools Festival. The festival will be held online in Beijing, China, from May 18 to 23. Photo Hà Nội Academy of Theatre and Cinema

HÀ NỘI - The Hà Nội Academy of Theatre and Cinema will perform King Oedipus at the 6th Asian Theatre Schools Festival (AETC) held online due to COVID-19 in Beijing, China, from May 18 to 23. 

The play is staged by director Bùi Như Lai and features students from the academy. 

"King Oedipus is by Sophocles, who is master of ancient Greek theatre and global theatre as well," said Lai. 

"The script is really a challenge for any director and performing artists because of its ideals and the complicated development of the characters," he said. 

As a result, King Oedipus has not been staged in Việt Nam before, according to the director. 

The main themes of the play are fate and free will; the conflict between the individual and the state; people’s willingness to ignore painful truths; and sight and blindness.

The director has modernised the work. 

The play focuses on the terrible tragedy of King Oedipus in the process of confrontation and determination to find the truth in the curse that he will kill his father and marry his mother.

Extreme pain is necessary for people to be more mature. It is important that from the deepest parts, man still retains his dignity, his love for humanity and the world, said the director. 

Student Hoàng Lâm, who plays Oedipus, said that at first he was very worried when he read the script. 

"It requires my experiences in life to fully express the inner role and the main ideals of the play," Lâm said. 

This is a good chance for the academy's lecturers and students to access and stage the masterpiece, according to the academy's head Nguyễn Đình Thi, who is an Associate Professor and Doctor of Arts. 

"The academy management board wants to improve the quality of training through this work," Thi said. 

"We also aim to make the academy one of the leading training schools in the region."

AETC is held by Asia Theatre Education Centre which is an institution for theatre education and study in China.

The motives and main objectives are to establish an effective network to connect theatre schools and organisations in Asia and the Pacific, and enhance communication on theatre education between different countries and areas in the regions.

It also promotes the development of theatre education, creativity, and research by providing a communication platform for all students, teachers and researchers who are devoted to the study and practice of theatre in Asia and the Pacific.

The festival's opening ceremony will be livestreamed at 9pm on May 18.  VNS