Director Le Quy Duong talks about his initiative to invite artists from the UK’s TNT Theatre to perform Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet in Ha Noi and HCM City from May 5-14.

Could you explain the reason you decided to select Romeo & Juliet as the initial step in the co-operation between your company (Le Quy Duong Company) and TNT Theatre?

There are many reasons for my decision. First and foremost, we want to turn Viet Nam into a destination for worldwide art performance tours.

In western producers’ eyes, the first ideal performing destination in Asia is Singapore.

We just wonder why such a small country like Singapore attracts them and Viet Nam does not.

Second, I watched the play in Berlin and was astonished at the huge work done by a team of only nine, including six artists, a director, a producer and a technician. They were also responsible for costumes, property and make-up.

I really admire them, seeing eight of them — the director could not come because he was busy in the UK — come to Viet Nam with all their property and costumes for the play in their luggage.

I don’t think Romeo & Juliet is the theatre’s best play but I chose it because it is familiar to Vietnamese.

Have you told the performers anything about Vietnamese people’s watching habit?

Many people in the audience have seen the play performed by Vietnamese artists. But many found difficulty in watching the play in English, even with Vietnamese subtitles.

I did not tell them anything. I just asked for their co-operation. Through each show, they have gained an understanding of Vietnamese audiences and adjusted themselves to suit the local situation.

I myself was curious about the way such a small-scale theatre with mostly young artists would treat a classic play. But after seeing them fulfill many tasks and play many roles like artists in Shakespeare’s time used to do, I could tell they were active and flexible.

I know that during the last 14 months, outside of travelling time, they performed almost every day. After the trip to Viet Nam, they will travel to Japan and stay there for three weeks and return to Europe. They have performed everywhere, including in palaces, gardens, private homes, schools and military camps.

Through their busy schedule in Viet Nam — eight shows on May 5-10 in HCM City and three shows on May 13-14 in Ha Noi — you and your partner seem to have pinned great faith on the Vietnamese audiences’ love for Shakespeare?

We don’t base it only on the number of people buying tickets from the ticket booths. We also considered the demand from the British Council, embassies, international schools and tourists. That’s why we do shows at mid-day as well as at night.

The mid-day shows are mainly for students at international schools where Romeo & Juliet is taught. Because of these mid-day shows, TNT Theatre is confident to announce their performances every day.

Do they find difficulty in working without microphones in Vietnamese theatres? Does the noise disturb their performances?

I told them this was the only technical drawback. But they don’t care much. They said the life of each show would be different and there was not a rule for quality from one show to another. According to them, performances should be based on their ability to interact with the local people and that artists should adjust themselves to local conditions rather than requiring better conditions.

They also explained that this play required more visual features and dialogue was less important as many of the audience knew the content already.

Contemporary audiences, even in the UK, also find it hard to understand the ancient dialogue in Shakespeare’s classic plays. However, people often don’t care much about the language when seeing plays from this era.

VietNamNet/VNS