Hanoi’s international festival reinvigorates experimental stage

• "Hanoi - The City for Peace" book festival opens
• National startup festival for students to be held in Hanoi
• Hanoi to host International Experimental Theatre Festival 2019

A scene from the play "Total Eclipse" by Experimental Theatre, Youth World Theatre – Sen Viet Theatre

The foreign artists come from Hungary, Israel, India, the Republic of Korea, China, Singapore, and Greece.

"Experimental stage" is a term to refer to the pioneering of artistic movements whose goal is the revitalization of the stage.

The experimental stage explores the differences between languages, as well as physical performance arts and structures to build new awareness to enrich the theater art language,  meeting audience expectations of fresh art in  light of of Industry 4.0.

"We admire the professionalism and creativity of foreign art troupes. They have invested a great deal their performances while pursuing an exacting minimalism in their stage arrangements and costumes. For example, it takes only two actors performing a play scripted from the thick and famous novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” or 3 actors performing Shakespeare’s Macbeth," said People’s Artist Le Tien Tho, Chairman of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association. 

A scene from play "A thousand years of white clouds" of the Voice of Vietnam Theatre

14 of the plays are by artists from Vietnam, “A thousand years of white clouds” of the Voice of Vietnam, “The Bald Soprano” of Lucteam Stage, and “Melancholy” of the Army Drama Theatre.

Doi Anh Quan, Deputy Director of the Army Drama Theatre, said, "Melancholy, written by Professor Doctor Tat Thang and directed by People’s Artist Le Hung, features stories of the past through a modern point of view. The Army Drama Theatre has done a great job in making preparations for the show and offering young artists roles to play in this special performance."

Theatrical puppetry and circus performances are also included in this year’s festival whose works are varied in topic and  performing styles.

Ha Quang Hao of the Army Traditional Opera Theatre noted, "Our traditional opera piece named “Kieu poem-a lifetime lullaby” is aimed at promoting Vietnam’s traditional theatre to the world and we’re very eager to learn from our foreign peers about the latest trends in stage performances."

A scene from "The Legend of Go Rong Ap" of Le Ngoc Theatre

Each participating performance is no shorter than 70 minutes and no longer than 120 minutes, including intervals in between, except for  puppet theatre and circus shows. All entries must contain unique characteristics, creativity and experimentation in the process of artistic creation.

"Every festival is an opportunity for us to exchange experiences and learn from our friends from around the world to improve our skills and knowledge. We hope that festivals like this will create positive changes in Vietnam’s theatre development in the time to come,” said People’s Artist Le Tien Tho.