HCM CITY — A series of cải lương (reformed opera) shows will be staged in HCM City as part of the city’s cultural and arts activities to celebrate Vietnamese Women’s Day on October 20. 

These shows feature women and love. 

The Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre will restage Cô Đào Hát (True Theatre Actress), a production about life and love directed by Meritorious Artist Hoa Hạ. 

The 120-minute play depicts the career of Thanh, who works and devotes her life to expanding her art, cải lương, a traditional genre of southern theatre which began in the early 1920s in the Mekong River Delta region.

It features cải lương star Quế Trân as Thanh. 

“We will offer true cải lương with modern techniques of performance,” said the play’s director Hạ, one of very few female theatre directors who has worked in theatre for nearly 30 years. 

The play Cô Đào Hát will open at 8pm today at 136Đ Trần Hưng Đạo Street, District 1. 

The Đồng Ấu Bạch Long Troupe, one of the city’s leading private theatres, will return with a new play of tuồng or hát bội (classical drama), a Vietnamese traditional theatre genre that originated in the 12th century. 

The show Ngọc Sáng Lưu Gia Trang (Stories of the Lưu Family) is about Vietnamese history. Women and their contributions to the country are highlighted. 

It features young actresses Ái Loan, Trinh Trinh and Thanh Dư. 

“I want to perfect the staging of tuồng to attract younger generations,” said the troupe’s founder and art director Bạch Long. 

Long said his troupe invested several hundred million đồng on high-tech equipment, including light and sound effects, artificial smoke and visual arts. 

“We have tried our best to portray Vietnamese history on stage as realistically as possible,” he said. 

Ngọc Sáng Lưu Gia Trang will be staged at 7:30pm on October 21 at 55B Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Street, District 3. 

Producer Gia Bảo is working with his partner, Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre, to launch a live show called Tấm Lòng Của Biển (Mind of the Seas). 

The show includes performances of cải lương and tuồng by famous artists, including People’s Artist Minh Vương, Kim Tử Long, Linh Tâm and Tus Sương. 

Southern history, culture and people will be portrayed. 

The artists will introduce a quality drama in a southern style – a style that requires specific performance skills. 

“Our show will offer quality performances with truly southern dramas,” said the show’s producer, Bảo. 

The show Tấm Lòng Của Biển will begin at 8pm on October 27 and on weekends in October and November. — VNS