Meeting appraises HCM City theatre scene
HCM CITY — The HCM City Literature and Arts Association reviewed the city theatre scene at a meeting of its members on Wednesday. Prof Ca Le Thuan, its chairman, said with more young, talented artists appearing on the scene in recent years, especially in traditional forms like cai luong (reformed theatre) and tuong (classical drama), things have been looking up.
He urged the association to study the market for traditional theatre forms and find out how to popularise them in modern society.
Director Hoa Ha, who has staged plays for more than 10 years, said: "Theatre reflects changes in society, especially urban society.
"I think new performance styles allow young people to explore."
Both comedies and serious plays staged by private troupes like Phu Nhuan, IDECAF, and Hoang Thai Thanh have been warmly received by critics and viewers, including all ages.
Tran Huu Trang Cai Luong Theatre's Chiec Ao Thien Nga (Swan Coat) and IDECAF's Ngan Nam Tinh Su (Thousand Years of History and Love) are still enjoyed by hundreds of people though they debuted two years ago.
Ha said while theatre artists, many of them young and energetic, are trying hard to introduce modern Vietnamese theatre to younger audiences, they face many challenges.
My Uyen, an actress at the HCM City Small Theatre, said: "We need financial support from the city to stage quality plays."
Her theatre received more than VND20 million (US$1,000) from the People's Committee to stage a set of serious plays depicting the life and revolutionary cause of President Ho Chi Minh. But the money was not enough, she complained.
Tran Thanh Giao, a member of the city Writers Association, lamented the fact that many musical and theatre works created by young artists he had read were not good enough, one of the reasons critics ignore them.
But he also had a word of criticism for the critics: "Critics seem to be passive in their criticism.
"We want young artists to remember that through their works, people [also] understand tradition."
The meeting attracted dozens of theatre artists and critics and writers from 20 State-owned and private art troupes around the city.
City authorities who attended promised more support for the association's activities. — VNS