They come from many countries, belong to different age groups and they share a common passion for comedy. They have joined hands to create a playground, called Saigon Players, a troupe of amateur artists who present plays in English in HCM City.

“Would you like to see a comedy by foreign players? You will both laugh and learn English”. We went to La Habana Club in the afternoon on a Sunday, following that invitation.

All-around artists

The stage is the space in a restaurant and props are the restaurant’s chairs. Artists did not have make-up and they wore black T-shirts, the group’s common costume.

The stage is exceedingly simple but Saigon Players brought big surprises and joyfulness to the audience. Applause was continuous, cheering the humorous, interesting stories acted out by the foreign actors.

Saigon Players’ extracts are popular circumstances for foreigners in Vietnam, such as misunderstandings, miss-translations, miss-listenings or miss-speakings between Vietnamese and foreigners; a foreigner who has just come to Vietnam and he is trapped by illegal taxi service; foreigners who practice speaking Vietnamese; the look of foreigners about wearing helmets; or foreigners seeking ways to cross a busy road in HCM City and others. These stories are told in a humorous way and through which they describe interesting cultural experiences of foreigners in Vietnam.

It is difficult to distinguish who are actors and who are waiters at the restaurant because members of Saigon Players are actors, stage designers, marketing staff, ticket salesmen, and also waiters.

Playground for art

Seeing many foreigners who work and live in Vietnam without any playground for them, a group of foreigners, including Emily Huckson (Canadian), Joe Springer Miller (American), Bee Shorland (British), Frederique Bouilheres (French) and Mikie Phan (Vietnamese) formed Saigon Players in 1994.

After 15 years, Saigon Players has neary 60 members. The group meets on the first Wednesday of every month, from 7-9pm at La Habana, 6 Cao Ba Quat, HCM City, to practice and discuss. Any member can become a director, a scriptwriter or an actor.

“Actor” Martin L. Oppus, an official of the UN Consulate General in HCM City, said: “I have participated in Saigon Players for more than two years to play as an actor and to do charity.”

Huong Thu, from the British Consulate in HCM City, said: “I never thought that I would have become an actress because I’m shy. The Saigon Players’ pamphlets now have my picture. No discrimination of culture and gender, people from 16 to 60 can join the group, to play with acting, learn English, meet new friends and do charity.”

Emily Huckson, the chief of Saigon Players, the writer of most scripts of Saigon Players, who was a stage director in Canada and came to Vietnam in 1992, said: “Let’s understand Saigon Players in two ways. One way is “players in Saigon” and the other way is “All friends in Saigon play together”. This is the bridge to connect the passions of everyone.”

All income from Saigon Players’ shows is invested in charity activities, such as building wells for poor people in the Mekong Delta, buying bicycles for poor children in Thu Duc district, HCM City, funding a heart operation for a child, buying books and learning tools for needy children.

VietNamNet/TT