HCM CITY — The Tet (lunar new year) holiday is a peak season for dramas when theatre-goers enjoy comedies and tragedies, overtaxing both actors and directors during the festive season.
Although this Tet saw the opening of several new theatrical venues, including one at Tan Binh District's SuperBowl Supermarket and the Hoang Thai Thanh Theatre in the Children's Cultural House in District 3, many of them were operating at full capacity.
The former is operated by the Hong Van Drama Troupe, which also runs three other venues at Phu Nhuan District's Cultural House, the city's Opera House and Kim Chau Theatre, with a combined capacity of 1,500.
As usual, during Tet the troupe ran two to three shows a day at a venue until the 10th day of the holiday. However, this year the three-show schedule will continue until the middle of the first lunar month.
Notable dramas staged by the troupe included Tron tinh (Shun Love), Dao tau (Escape), Cuoi dum (Married on Other's Behalf), Su lua doi dang yeu (A Lovable Lie), Xin loi chiu het noi (Sorry but I Can't Take It Anymore), Nguoi vo ma (A Ghost Wife) and Nhiem vu bat kha thi (Mission Impossible), among others.
Not only comedies drew big crowds during Tet, but tragedies also fared very well. In particular, tickets to Gieng la (A Strange Well), which was staged at the Opera House, were usually sold out.
Most tickets were booked in advance and the auditoriums were always full even though a ticket costs up to VND120,000 (US$7).
The Hong Van troupe is planning to stage new dramas right after their Tet schedules come to an end by the end of this month, including a brand new show titled Cuoc chien am thuc (Food Battle) and remakes of award-winning dramas like No than (The Magic Bow) and Me va nguoi tinh (Mother and her Hearthrob).
As a result, actors will barely have time to rest after 15 days of performances during Tet. However, the post-Tet schedule will be not so tight, according to the troupe executives.
Likewise, the troupe at IDECAF (Institut d'Eùchange Culturel avec la France – Institute of Cultural Exchange with France) staged three shows a day during the holiday until the end of this month at Ben Thanh Theatre, which can accommodate more than 1,000 spectators.
Their dramas included Thuoc dang gia tat (A Bitter Dose), Con Tam con Cam (Good Sister and Bad Sister), Vung dat cam (Forbidden Zone) and Hong sung vo hinh (Invisible Muzzle).
Meanwhile, Cong Nhan Theatre on District 1's Tran Hung Dao Street hardly had an empty seat during performances of Nhung chuyen tinh mua xuan (Spring Love Stories) and Nhung chuyen tinh treo cang ngong (Awkward Loves) which were staged until yesterday, or the 10th day of Tet. — VNS