Scene from the play Comrade - Photo: LINH DOAN
Comrade (author: Le Thu Hanh, director: People's Artist Tran Ngoc Giau - Quoc Thinh) is a play invested by the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association, which won the gold prize at the first Ho Chi Minh City Theater Festival in November 2024.
Comrade chosen by the president of Busan Theater Association
Mr. Tran Ngoc Giau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association, told Tuoi Tre Online that the chairman of the Busan Theater Association, Mr. Jungnam Lee, had seen the play Comrade twice. He had also seen several other plays at the first Ho Chi Minh City Theater Festival and finally decided to invite Comrade to the Busan Theater Festival.
This is the 43rd festival, lasting from April 3 to 20.
Mr. Ton That Can, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association, announced the detailed schedule: after the opening ceremony on April 3, on April 4, the Comrades crew will run the play to prepare for two performances in the festival on April 5 and 6.
On April 7, the delegation had an exchange with the Busan Theater Association and returned to Ho Chi Minh City on April 8, ending the trip.
Artist My Uyen also shared that in order to limit the number of people, the Comrades crew also asked some actors in Korea to act as dancers and extras to support the play.
The organizers said the audience will include both Koreans and Vietnamese expatriates. The play will have subtitles and will be shortened to less than 2 hours compared to the original.
In peacetime, soldiers also face thorny pains no less than in wartime - Photo: LINH DOAN
Hope to have more opportunities to learn
Mr. Tran Ngoc Giau recalled that more than ten years ago, he brought the play " Step Through the Curse" of the Ho Chi Minh City Drama Theater with artists such as Dam Loan, Chanh Thuan, Tuyet Thu, Quach Ho Ninh, Le Dien... to attend the Asian Theater Festival in Busan.
This is considered the second time that the city's drama has come to this festival.
Therefore, Mr. Giau hopes that in addition to the main performances, the crew will try to watch as many as possible to learn how to organize, see how, in addition to the traditional performance in the box stage, they will perform plays in other spaces, how to handle them, what new trends and applications there are...
"I remember that the late director Huynh Nga and I once watched a play at a basketball court. The organizers gave out pieces of paper for the audience to sit down and watch. But the way the artists handled it and acted touched our hearts, making us watch it twice and still cry," Mr. Giau said.
He also said that there are small stages, about 50-70 seats, without too many conditions for sound and light, but the artists still know how to manage and create very well. What he wonders and wants to find the answer to is why this festival has no awards, no medals but still attracts and maintains until now, the 43rd time.
"In our country, if a performance or festival does not have awards or medals, will artists put in the effort to practice to participate?" - Mr. Giau wondered.
The play Comrades premiered at the 5B Drama Theater in September 2024. The play is a story that intertwines the past and present with soldiers like Trung, Tam, Chinh… who fought side by side amidst fierce bombs and bullets.
Peace was restored, seemingly peaceful, but the former soldiers had to face "peacetime wars" that were even more thorny and painful.
Coming to this Busan Theater Festival, Comrade has the participation of artists Quoc Thinh, Chanh Truc, My Uyen, Trong Hieu, Minh Quoc, Lam Thang, Phuong Tram, Ky Thien Canh, Khanh Dang...
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