Cải lương play «Người con gái Hà Thành» (The Girl of Old Hanoi)

   A spy story told through cải lương: a woman works undercover in a Hanoi under French occupation, where any line of dialogue could be her last. The stage sits inside the Old Quarter, a few minutes on foot from Hoàn Kiếm lake, and this is a brand-new production rather than the familiar set of excerpts.

   The show was built by Nhà hát Cải lương Hà Nội under the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and premiered on 13 August 2026. Cải lương is Vietnamese sung drama, and here it carries a chapter of the resistance war against the French. At the centre stands Uyên Thanh, a woman working in intelligence, matched against an enemy counter-espionage machine; through her the production draws the Hanoi woman as elegant and light on her feet, yet unbreakable.

   Who made it and who is on stage:

• — script by Nguyễn Toàn Thắng, cải lương adaptation by Ngọc Thuỵ
• — directed by Triệu Trung Kiên, People's Artist and holder of a doctorate
• — set design by Doãn Bằng, music by Đào Trung, choreography by Thanh Nam
• — on stage: Thanh Hương, Hồng Nhung, Quang Tuấn, Nhật Linh and the theatre's own singers, musicians and dancers

   You will get the most out of it if you like traditional stage forms, or if you have never sat through a whole cải lương evening and want an easy way in. The production deliberately mixes the old form with a modern stage language: music, scenery, lighting and movement are all built to carry the drama, not merely to decorate it.

   The play is the newest link in a chain of flagship Hanoi productions. «Nét duyên Chèo Hà thành» from the chèo theatre came first, then «Chuyện Hà Nội - Một ngày rất Hà Nội» about the city of today; this one goes back into history. The current showing belongs to the city programme for the 81st anniversary of National Day, days when Hanoi also stages concerts across its wards and fires off fireworks from five sites.

   The performance is in Vietnamese, and no subtitles have been announced. Cải lương leans heavily on music, costume and gesture, so the storyline stays readable even without the words.

   Tickets are sold, but the theatre has not published prices, and the city listing gives no start time either, so call the box office to confirm before you travel.

   Give one evening to Hàng Bạc and hear the Hanoi of the 1940s sung back to you.