The play was staged by People's Artist Tuan Hai and artistically directed by People's Artist Xuan Bac.
According to People's Artist Xuan Bac, Director of the Vietnam Drama Theater, on January 17, 1899, exactly 125 years ago, the work " Maxim's Restaurant Prostitute" was first premiered in Paris. For more than a hundred years, "Maxim's Restaurant Prostitute" has continuously appeared in Paris Theaters and Theaters around the world.
Actor Hong Phuc and actress Mai Duyen have confident and graceful performances, fully transforming into the two main characters of the play.
“As a classical and modern author, Georges Feydeau has had great success both in France and around the world. Opening the stage in the year of the Dragon, the Vietnam Drama Theater chose the comedy “Maxim’s Restaurant Prostitute” by Georges Feydeau to “make people laugh and feel happy”, bringing laughter at the beginning of the year with the hope that the whole year will spread joy to the audience”, Meritorious Artist Xuan Bac shared.
Compared to the old version staged by the Vietnam Drama Theater more than 20 years ago with the captivating performance of Meritorious Artist Chieu Xuan as the prostitute Crovet in "Maxim's Restaurant Prostitute", contributing to the artist's reputation in the play that lasted 2 nights, the new version has been shortened to nearly 3 hours.
Georges Feydeau used the story of a prostitute in a cabaret with an obscene dance, mistaken for the wife of a doctor in the capital city of Paris. From that position, she suddenly became a model and idol for the local aristocratic upper class.
The play deeply satirizes the corrupt, empty upper-class society of 19th-century France.
The female lead in the new production is played by artist Mai Duyen, the male lead plays the role of Doctor Petypon, played by actor Hong Phuc. With a juggling and humorous performance, the artist team led the audience into the drama based on a misunderstanding after the night Doctor Petypon went to Maxim's restaurant to drink with his close friend Mongicourt. Unexpectedly, when he was too drunk, he brought a prostitute home. All the trouble exploded when Petypon tried many tricks to cover up his sins with his wife (Gabrielle). Suddenly, the General returned from Africa to France, stopped by the house of Petypon's nephew to invite him to his adopted son's wedding. He mistook the prostitute for his nephew's wife, so he invited her to Tuaren castle on his daughter's wedding day. The situation forced Petypon to "counter-strategize". Unexpectedly, when he arrived in Tuaren, Crovet began to reveal her flirtatious nature. She lured the provincial ladies into her games, pretending that ridiculous things were fashionable in Paris, and even “took” the groom-to-be - who was her ex-lover...
The lies in love and marriage also create many tragicomedies when the prostitute freely "blindfolds" an ignorant and empty upper class society, who is eager to learn nonsense and frivolity. Besides, the relationships in the family that are damaged by lies are also depicted very clearly through the art of theater.
The play brought the audience endless laughter.
Sharing about the play, director, People's Artist Tuan Hai said: "I used pure Vietnamese dialogue, But Tre poetry and folk songs and proverbs to make the story with a foreign setting closer to Vietnamese audiences."
The play takes the audience from one burst of laughter to another with humorous details that are logically interwoven and the natural, well-rounded, and charming acting of the cast. Notably, the play has almost no star actors but mainly consists of young actors.
“The main roles are all played by young actors. Previously, they were only given small roles. In this play, they really shined. I feel happy because they were trusted, given opportunities and performed their roles well, contributing to creating a new breath for Vietnamese drama,” said the director, People's Artist Tuan Hai.
The play "Maxim Restaurant Prostitute" will be officially performed by the Vietnam Drama Theater in the art program "Spring 24" on February 17-18 and 23-24-25, 2024 (ie January 8-9 and 14-15-16 of the year of the Dragon).
Also on this occasion, the Vietnam Drama Theater launched the program "Reunion 8.3" to honor International Women's Day March 8 with the participation of two classic comedies " Quan thanh tra " and " Ngheu om oc hen ".
20:00 01-02-07-16/3/2024: "Clams, mussels, snails and clams" at Vietnam Drama Theater
8:00 p.m. March 8, 2024: "Clams, Mussels, Snails, Mussels" at Dai Nam Cinema
8:00 p.m., October 9-19, March 2024: "Inspector" at Dai Nam Cinema
20:00 March 15, 2024: "Inspector" at Vietnam Drama Theater
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