'Philosophical' plays are enduring hits

Strange vitality

First of all, we must mention Idecaf stage with the plays Miracle or 12 Midwives because of the strange vitality of these plays.

12 Midwives debuted 22 years ago (2003), and has been re-produced a total of 4 times at Ben Thanh Theater, Idecaf Stage, Thanh Nien Theater, with different artist teams, but always sold out. The play has a folk color, is staged grandly and brilliantly, lively and humorous, mobilizes famous artists, attracts audiences of both adults and children, from intellectuals to commoners, because each audience finds their own attractive points. But hidden behind that is a philosophical message. Midwives can only mold half of a person, the other half is due to life training and education. Thinking back, each of us is only given a few qualities by our parents, the rest is influenced by real life outside.

Hoa Hiep ( left ) and Meritorious Artist Dieu Duc in the play Hello the God

Miracle (later re-titled Hello the God ) is a philosophy about life and death. Two young men go to the hospital together but are given the wrong medical records. While the rich young man takes advantage of his remaining days to enjoy life, the other tries to carry out his dream projects, bringing benefits to the people. That makes the God of Death think again. The play reminds us to cherish every moment of life, to create values ​​for life. The play was re-produced twice in 10 years, with a large audience.

Hoang Thai Thanh Theater also has the play " The Hand of Heaven" with an educational philosophy. The bandit swapped his son with the son of a scholar in the hope that he would change his life. But he did not expect that the son he raised in an evil way would kill his own son who was raised well by the scholar and became a successful person. He forgot that "The father eats salty food, the son will be thirsty", even if he cheated, heaven and earth and the law of cause and effect were not wrong. This play was invested in seriously, highly, and was popular for 10 years.

Stage 5B also made the audience think with the play Money is Number 1. When poor, the couple still maintained happiness and honesty, but when they won the lottery and became rich, and then had a successful business, their character suddenly changed, becoming deceitful and cruel. In fact, money is still necessary, but each person must have the ability to control money, otherwise being controlled by money will cause consequences. The play is very graceful and close to everyday life.

The World Youth Theater also has a play called Who is sober here that is worth pondering. A mental hospital has patients who have been betrayed in love, who are in debt and are being chased, who are addicted to drugs… They have been treated with love and become good people true to their pure nature. On the contrary, in real life there are people who are very sober but are very “sick” due to love, money, fame, jealousy… They are “sick” but do not know it, and they sink deeper into suffering.

Artists "brainstorm" more

Thien Dang Theater has only been around for a year but has already produced two philosophical plays that are quite heavy. The fateful ferry with the Buddhist idea of ​​"going to the other shore" reminds us that if we want to live a peaceful life, we must let go of the things that tie us down. The play 13 teachers also philosophizes about people. Although they are shaped by the gods in charge of emotions and psychology from heaven, when people are reincarnated to earth, they are still influenced by education. These two plays are not easy to watch, but with the excellent skills of the artists such as Thanh Loc, Huu Chau, Le Khanh... Thien Dang is always sold out.

Luong The Thanh ( left ) and Meritorious Artist Huu Chau in the play The Fateful Ferry

PHOTO: HK

Meritorious Artist Huu Chau said: "We think that the audience is easy-going, but in fact they know how to appreciate it. Each genre of drama has its own audience, and the kind of drama we make will have the same audience. Some people have watched Chuyen the ferry of destiny three times, and said that each time they watch it, they discover different aspects, understand different layers of meaning, very interesting. As for us artists, we also like to perform difficult plays like that, requiring us to analyze deeply, think a lot to understand, to feel, and when we see the audience accept it as a soul mate, we are extremely happy."

Actor Hoa Hiep, who plays a rich young master in the play "Hé lô ông thần" , confided: "When performing a play with a philosophical nature, I naturally have to think deeply, accept longer rehearsals, and more difficult acting, but this is a profession that requires training. In my opinion, although the plays are full of philosophy, the stages in Ho Chi Minh City are staged in a very real and fun way, so the audience can easily empathize."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/kich-triet-ly-an-khach-ben-bi-185250421235248314.htm