Viet Nam News
HCM CITY— Young artists of the The Gioi Tre (World of Youth) Drama Troupe will offer three new comedies to serve theatregoers during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.
The shows will mark the troupe’s eighth anniversary this year.
The featured play is Bao Gio Me Lay Chong (When Does Mom Get Married?), a production by young director Ngoc Hung, with actors Diem Phuong, Anh Tu and Quang Tuan, graduates of the HCM City University of Theatre and Cinematography.
Director Hung uses both Eastern and Western styles to feature the play’s theme about urban women and social problems.
“I wanted to direct plays on a stage filled with light and sound and visual effects,” he said.
Hung, a reporter, theatre writer and director, knows how to dazzle the audience during and after performances.
“A stage is a channel for dreams. A director should be a mason building his own house,” he said before the premiere of Bao Gio Me Lay Chong yesterday.
“I dreamed of owning a theatre even as a student at university,” he said, referring to his migration to the stage in 2009 when he and his partner, a businessman, formed the troupe.
Hung has written and directed more than 20 plays on different topics.
Most of his works, which are stories about urban youth, have helped young actors like Thu Trang, Hoang Phi and Tien Luat become popular among theatre lovers.
One of his highlighted plays, Chuyen Tinh Bangkok (Love Story in Bangkok), has been performed 200 times since its initial show in 2014.
Though the play was about a well-worn topic, love, it brought new messages and included new concepts for the theatre.
Thanks to his contribution, The Gioi Tre Troupe is one of the city’s leading private drama troupes, and is also a place for young actors to improve their skills.
The theatre has offered quality plays and has been able to earn a profit.
“The Gioi Tre Troupe offers quality shows at only VND30-50,000 (US$0.7) per ticket to attract young audiences. I believe in their future,” said Tran Thuy Giao, a fan of Hung.
Giao and her friends say they enjoy serious plays about conflicts in life and love such as Dream Boys and Trai Yeu (Men in Love).
The comedy Bao Gio Me Lay Chong and other new plays will be staged every Saturday and Sunday in January and February at 125 Cong Quynh Street in District 1.
The troupe will offer free performances for the poor in rural districts during the Tet holiday, which begins on February 14. — VNS