ICON: People's Artist Doãn Hoàng Giang has passed away, aged 85. Photo vietnamplus.vn

 HÀ NỘI — People's Artist Doãn Hoàng Giang passed away on Monday at his home in Hà Nội, from health complications due to old age, the Việt Nam Association of Theatre Artists said. He was 85.

Director Doãn Hoàng Giang was born in 1938 in Ninh Bình Province. He was a big name in Vietnamese theatre, culture and art.

Giang was one of the country's bright young talents sent to the Soviet Union for education. His life's ambition was to elevate the standard of performance on the Vietnamese stage, thus he and other artists spent their time studying and absorbing the essence of many cultures and art forms.

He studied acting at the Hà Nội University of Theatre and Performing Arts before deciding to pursue directing instead. Yet, after many years in the industry as an actor, he finally settled on the fact that directing is his true calling.

Giang is credited with helping to create a golden era of Vietnamese theatre in the 1980s and beyond.

His famous theatrical works include Hà My của tôi (My Hà My), Nhân danh Công lý (In the Name of Justice), Bài ca Điện Biên (The Song of Điện Biên), Nàng Sita (Miss Sita), and Hoàng hậu Ba Tư (Queen of Persia). 

In 2019, he staged a new version of the play Người mẹ trước vành móng ngựa (Mother in Front of the Bar of Court) which was based on the bestselling novel Madam X by American author Michell Avalon.

Additionally, the artist served as the Chairman of the Art Council of the Executive Committee for the Việt Nam Association of Theatre Artists for the 2014-2019 term. VNS