HCM CITY — Young artists at the Phú Nhuận Drama Troupe will stage new plays including comedies for students during the three upcoming national holidays: the Hùng Kings Memorial Day on April 14,  Reunification Day on April 30 and Labour Day on May 1.

The shows will mark the troupe’s 18th anniversary.

The plays to be staged include Mẹ Và Người Tình (Mother and Lover) and Hồn Oan (The Ghost) with actors Lê Lộc, Duy Dương and Hoàng Linh.

Director Minh Nhí uses both eastern and western drama styles to elaborate the plays’ themes of  urban women and social problems.

A theatre writer and comic actor, he has a finger on the audience’s pulse and makes clever use of light and sound and visual effects.

“I wanted to make quality shows for students when I was at university,” Nhí, who has been in the industry for more than 20 years, said.

"Live theatre offers physical, emotional and social benefits, and it helps the audience develop a healthy appreciation of culture and arts,” he said before the premiere of Mẹ Và Người Tình on Saturday. 

The theatre’s comedies Tầng 13 (13th Floor) and Đui Mù Câm Điếc Xử Án (Blind Justice) have both been staged many times since their premiere in 2015.

Though they are about a well-worn topic, love, they offered new messages and new concepts for theatre.

New versions of the plays will be staged now by young scriptwriter and director Đinh Mạnh Phúc with actors Hoàng Long and Kha Ly, graduates of the HCM City University of Theatre and Cinematography.

“Our troupe’s new plays use modern techniques and were challenging for the young staff, including graduates of art schools,” the troupe’s owner, People’s Artist Hồng Vân, said.

“To maintain the stage, we need to train more young, skilled performers through live shows,” Vân, a veteran who began her career in 1993, said. 

Offering professional drama training has been part of her theatre's activities for the last eight years so that one day “we can be recognised as a speciality art centre," she said.

Thanks to her efforts, Phú Nhuận Drams Troupe is one of the city’s leading private theatres and also a place for young actors to improve their skills.

“Our theatre offers quality shows at just VNĐ80,000 (US$3.4) to attract students,” Vân said, adding there would be free performances for the poor in rural districts on April 30 and May 5.

The comedies, Tầng 13 and Đui Mù Câm Điếc Xử Án, will be staged every Saturday and Sunday in April and May at 70-72 Nguyễn Văn Trỗi Street in Phú Nhuận District. — VNS