Festive: Pop singers are preparing for big shows to celebrate Christmas and New Year. — VNS Photo Pham The Danh

HCM CITY (VNS) — HCM City theatres promise a variety of new and interesting shows this festive season to suit audiences of varying musical and dramatic tastes.

For music fans, the Trong Dong Club in Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, District 1, will offer a special music and song programme Xuan Yeu Thuong (The Spring of Love) each night from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day.

Attracting music stars and bands, including singers Dam Vinh Hung, Dong Nhi, Noo Phuoc Thinh and pop bands 365 and Mat Ngoc, the event will provide young fans with a world of sound and light on a modern stage.

The Youth & Culture House's music shows are familiar with local students and workers. This season, the cultural house will stage two free programmes, Chuc Mung Xuan Moi (Celebrating New Spring) and Vong Tay Yeu Thuong (Embracing Arms), at its theatre in Pham Ngoc Thach Street, District 1.

Both shows, providing various songs, dances, circuses and comedies, will begin at night on the first day of the New Year festival and continue to the end of the festival week.

Many nightclubs and bars around the city are also planning to introduce different entertainment programmes.

Fans of romantic tunes should head to the We Lounge in District 1's Le Quy Don Street and the Tieng Xua in District 10's Cao Thang Street. Fans will enjoy love songs every night from December 21 to 27.

For more quiet selections, try the popular stages of 5B Theatre in Vo Van Tan Street and Nu Cuoi Moi Club in 3 Thang Hai Street.

The 5B Theatre performs two new shows, Tuyet Sai Gon (Snow in Sai Gon) and Tinh Ca Pho (Love Song on Street), directed by young talents Nguyen Khac Duy and Tung Phi.

The musical Tuyet Sai Gon tells of a group of four young women and men who missed the bus to return home on Christmas Eve. They walk together and share stories about life and love.

The show's young actors Diem Phuong, Khac Duy, and Kha Nhu will dance and sing popular songs such as Last Christmas, Money Money, I will Survive and Mary's Boy Child.

The serious play Tinh Ca Pho (The City's Love Song) highlights the lifestyle of the city's residents.

"Through our shows, audiences can laugh but also can gain useful lessons," said the 5B Theatre's director My Uyen.

Another option for laughs is the Nu Cuoi Moi. "Like other theatres, we decided to stage comedies in Christmas and New Year because people want to be entertained and forget their problems after a year of hard work," said comedian and theatre director Bui Quoc Bao.

"Our club's comedy shows' previous seasons received a warm response from critics and audiences," he said.

"We are confident our shows will have a good profit during this business season," he added.

As in previous years, the Tran Huu Trang Cai Luong (reformed opera) Theatre stands alone during the holiday by sticking to its dramatic line-up.

The serious plays Cong Me Di Choi (Hangout with Mother on the Back) and Doi Nhu Y (Perfect Life), performed by talented actors Vu Luan and Ngoc Doi, promise different views and passions to cai luong lovers.

Whatever your taste, HCM City's theatres guarantee an entertaining new year. — VNS