Viet Nam News
HA NOI — A comedy by late Vietnamese dramatist Long Chuong will be revived on stage over 50 years arter its first performance.
Composed in 1960, Quan (Stupefaction) is a notable comedy work considered representative of modern Vietnamese drama. It tells the story of the upper middle class man Dai Cat and his family’s efforts to disperse and hide its wealth when they are asked to hand over their property to the administration.
Dai Cat aims to resolve the issue by giving his daughter a dowry, giving away to his wife and his mother. Ridiculously, he even buys a coffin for himself. On the contrary, his daughter knows her father’s conspiracy and doesn’t agree with him. She knows where her father hides his gold and brings all gold to the authority.
The comedy is revived by established artist Tran Luc. He stages the comedy with theatrical illusion techniques generated by German playwright Bertolt Brecht. This is the first stage work by Luc, and it earned him the best director award at the recent Ha Noi Stage Festival 2016. Actor Truong Manh Dat also won the gold medal at the festival for his role Dai Cat.
"I watched the comedy, which was staged by People’s Artist Tran Hoat for Viet Nam National Drama Theatre long ago," said director Luc. "I liked how his style criticised Dai Cat. However, I think that the original screenplay is not suitable for our time. I had to adjust the screenplay."
Born in 1918 in the northern province of Hai Duong, Pham Van Hien eventually took the name Long Chuong, which means "satire" in Vietnamese. At the age of five, he watched Moliere comedy at Ha Noi Opera House with his aunt.
He and his friends in the Binh Dan Art Troupe began to perform short plays during the early days of the national resistance against the French. His short plays with national resistance themes were popular because they were light-hearted and humourous.
His Quan is seen as the most successful comedy of Viet Nam modern drama, with more than 1,000 shows by Viet Nam National Drama Theatre.
During his 70 year-career, Long Chuong wrote nearly 140 works for different art genres including drama; puppetry and cheo (traditional operetta). He is a recipient of the Ho Chi Minh Award for literature and arts. — VNS