Play «Hồn Trương Ba, da hàng thịt» (Truong Ba's Soul, the Butcher's Body)

   A gentle gardener is forced to live on in a butcher's body, and soul and flesh start pulling in opposite directions: Luu Quang Vu's famous play returns to the Vietnam Youth Theatre in a staging by a French director. If you already know the story, this is a chance to see it told differently.

   The director is Anne Bouvier from France. According to VTV, it is the first time she has worked with a Vietnamese play and Vietnamese actors. She puts the weight on acting and physicality, so that the conflict between soul and body shows on stage, not only in dialogue and debate.

   What is new in this version:

• — a single actor plays both the soul and the body of Truong Ba (Trương Ba) – a big challenge for the performer that makes the character's inner struggle easier to see;
• — the core of Luu Quang Vu's story stays intact, told in a stage language closer to today's audience;
• — reading the script, the director focused on Vietnamese culture, especially how people bid farewell to the dead and how they think about life;
• — the cast brings Thanh Son (Thanh Sơn) and Bao Thanh (Bảo Thanh) back to the theatre stage after a break, alongside Luong Thu Trang (Lương Thu Trang), Thu Quynh (Thu Quỳnh) and Ly Chi Huy (Lý Chí Huy).

   It is for anyone who has seen “Hồn Trương Ba, da hàng thịt” before and wants a fresh angle, and for younger audiences meeting Luu Quang Vu's theatre for the first time.

   The spoken drama by the late playwright Luu Quang Vu (Lưu Quang Vũ) grew out of a folk tale about Truong Ba, whom the chess immortal De Thich (Đế Thích) brings back to life in a butcher's body; Luu Quang Vu gave the play a tragic ending of his own.

   There are two performances: 10 and 11 October. The play is not suitable for children under 15.

   A familiar story, told in a way worth staying for until the final scene.