Old favourite: Artists perform in the drama Hon Truong Ba Da Hang Thit (Truong Ba's Soul in Butcher's Body) by playwright Luu Quang Vu. Another play written by Vu, Benh Si (Egotism) will be re-staged by the Viet Nam Drama Theatre this year. — Photo musicshow.vn

HA NOI (VNS)— Benh Si (Egotism), one of the most famous plays written by playwright Luu Quang Vu is to be again staged by the Viet Nam Drama Theatre.

Premiered in 1988, the play was directed by People's Artists director Dinh Quang. Like Vu's previous plays, Benh Si received great acclaim by mass audiences.

Taking place in a rural village in the north, the play is about a commune chairman and his subordinate officers, who are ordinary and good-natured people. However, they begin to consider themselves to be "noble" people, and start to seek glory and try to change their appearances.

This process of changing, however, is done pompously. Many ridiculous consequences happen when the officials' good nature cannot change to adapt to their new behaviors.

Benh Si was Vu's last production before he died at age 40 in a traffic accident in 1988. The accident also killed his wife, poet Xuan Quynh, and their small daughter.

Vu is author of more than 50 plays. Most of them reveal and criticise the darker side of society, especially focusing on corruption and authoritarian behaviour by local officials.

The 2014 version of Benh Si will be directed by director Tuan Hai, who acted in dramas written by Vu in the 1980s.

According to deputy director of the Viet Nam Drama Theatre, Anh Tu, the re-staging of Benh Si is designed to honour its author's talent and his significant contribution to Vietnamese drama, as well as to provide audiences the opportunity to enjoy the drama.

Alongside the play by Vu, by the end of this month Viet Nam Drama Theatre will also re-stage the drama Lau Dai Cat (Sand Castle) by writer Nguyen Dang Chuong.

Since 2013, the Viet Nam Drama Theatre has re-staged a number of famous plays, including Nhan Danh Cong Ly (In the Name of Justice), and Hang Xom Chung Cu (Neighbours in Apartment Building). — VNS