A play about gay men, people living with HIV and AIDS and men who suffer sexual abuse acted by Tuoi Tre Theatre was warmly welcomed at the Mekong Art and Media Festival.

The festival was first enjoyed in 2005 by the Philippine Educational Theatre Association (PETA) and the Center for Community Health Research and Development (CCRD). It is held annually in countries in the sub-Mekong region. This year the festival took place in Cambodia.

Each country brought to the festival unique and modern artworks, instead of more traditional works.

Chinese artists didn’t play Chinese opera but instead a 10-minute solo performance by Zang Yinzhong in a work named “Deserted Island”. Instead of their traditional dances, Lao artists contributed a modern puppet show while Thailand introduced its movies. Only the host country – Cambodia – performed its traditional Apsara dance.

Most of the plays brought to the festival focused on action, not dialogue, with Laos’ “Dream”, Thailand’s “Revived Butterfly” and Vietnam’s “Stereoman”.

“Stereoman” was highly appreciated by the audience and artists from the sub-Mekong region.

Through body language, the play explores the feelings and aspirations of an HIV-infected man while examining social issues, gender, sex, HIV/AIDS, homoeroticism and violence.

The play was first performed by the Youth Theatre’s actors, including Bui Nhu Lai, Hoai Nam, Cong Dung and Hoang Tung, in the 2007 Mekong Experimental Theatre Festival.

More than 50 performances of StereoMan have been presented for free at universities and colleges throughout the country, as well as in Thailand and India.

VietNamNet/VNE