Gold diggers: A scene in the play Vong Xoay Nghiet Nga (Life is Cruel), which is being staged at the HCM City Theatre. — Photo Courtesy of Thuy Binh

HCM CITY (VNS) — Theatres in HCM City are staging plays about love and social relations to attract more audiences on the weekends.

HCM City Theatre's new play Vong Xoay Nghiet Nga (Life is Cruel) is directed by Meritorious Artist Doan Ba, who has staged hundreds of cai luong (reformed opera) and non-cai luong plays.

The story is about a search for gold once kept by Ba Tai. After being seriously injured in battle during the war, he forgot about the burial location of the gold.

Three years later, Tai's family and authorities tried to search for the gold, but nothing was found.

Comedic actor Anh Tuan plays the main character Ba Tai.

"The play taught me lessons about love, trust and sacrifice," said Tuan, who appears with actors Hong Tham, Thai Kim Tung and Le Quyen.

Nguyen Anh Kiet, director of the theatre, said: "This year, we plan to restage plays on romantic relations and love that have been popular with HCM City's audiences in the past."

They include Nguoi Yeu Toi La Hoa Hau (My Love is Miss Beauty), Cuoc Phieu Luu Cua Buc Thu Tinh (An Adventure of a Love Letter), and Ben Bo Xa Lac (Faraway Shore).

"We are planning to recruit graduates of the HCM City Theatre and Cinematography University to promote the theatre's activities and present more productions to the public," Kiet said.

Vong Xoay Nghiet Nga can be seen every Saturday during August at the theatre at 30 Tran Hung Dao Street in District 1.

The Hoang Thai Thanh Drama Theatre is also preparing a new production, based on Southern writer Nguyen Ngoc Tu's short story Dong Nho (Flow of Memory), about the life of a young couple in a rural area of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

After the couple's child dies from drowning, the husband leaves the wife.

The play, Bao Gio Song Can (When the River Is Dry), written by actress and director Ngo Pham Hanh Thuy, is also being staged this summer.

Directed by Ai Nhu, the play "promises to have surprising details that will cause audiences to burst into tears", Nhu said.

The play will feature popular actors, including Meritorious Artists Thanh Hoi and Tuyet Thu, Ai Nhu and Hung Thuan.

Performances begin on August 28 at the theatre at 139 Bac Hai Street in District 10. — VNS