LookAtVietnam – Yet again, no theatre productions managed to bag the elusive A prize at the finals of the Theatre Prize 2008 competition, held in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

Graceful dancing: A scene from cai luong play Chiec Ao Thien Nga (A Swan’s Gown), which took the Special Prize at the Theatre Prize 2008 competition.

The association are always serious in selecting high quality plays for the A prize,” the chairman of the association’s Art Council, People’s Artist Doan Hoang Giang says.

“Obviously, there have not been any plays this year expressing distinguished features in content and art in staging and performing. Even the drama I produced, Ta Quan Le Van Duyet (Gen Le Van Duyet), only took the B prize.”

However, a Special Prize was handed to a cai luong (reformed theatre) play, Chiec Ao Thien Nga (A Swan’s Gown), by Tran Huu Trang Cai Luong Theatre. The VND2 billion (US$1,140) production featured many famous cai luong stars.

“The theatre proved their real interest in theatrical art by spending so much money to stage the play and employing dozens of cai luong stars,” Giang says.

“The play was performed at a stadium with a proper lighting and sound system. This is a special event for today’s domestic theatres. The brave investment is worthy of a special prize for the theatre’s director, rather than an award for the artistic quality of the play.”

Four B prizes went to HCM City Drama Theatre for its production Ta Quan Le Van Duyet, Nghe An Folk Arts Drama Theatre for Loi Nguoi – Loi Cua Nuoc Non (President Ho’s Words – The Whole Nation’s Words), the Army Ordnance General Department Traditional Opera Theatre for Dem Trang (Sleepless Night) and HCM City Classical Drama Theatre for Tu Hinh Khong An Trang (Death Sentence Without Trial).

In the scenario category a B prize was also awarded for the drama Tinh Su Ngan Nam (A Thousand-Year Love) by writer Nguyen Quang Lap. Another 18 C prizes and 11 Encouragement prizes were also handed out.

Theatre researcher Hoai Anh from HCM City won a B prize for his research work. Three other researchers received C prizes in this category.

The winning plays were selected from 100 competing entries and filtered through three selection rounds. No theatre production has bagged the top prize since 2003, People’s Artist Trong Khoi says.

In answer to why the prize remained so out of reach, chairman of the association Giang, said theatre in Viet Nam lacked innovation.

“A great production should be an interesting one with something new which is realistic at the same time. There have been many good quality productions but they contain little to make people think twice. There have also been plays on history but they are just descriptive history, which lack a link with modern life.”

The National Experimental Theatre Festival will be in December. The plays aiming to join the festival are not eligible to compete at the association’s prize competition.

This is another reason for the limited number of plays awarded high prizes at the competition, Giang said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News