Comedy play «Một Ngày Làm Vua» (One Day as King)

   A penniless fisherman who spends his life being cheated by fish traders and shaken down by officials is handed the throne for exactly one day. Will he take revenge, indulge himself, or do the one thing the powerful never did for his village? That question has been filling a small stage on Lê Thánh Tôn, in the middle of Ho Chi Minh City, for two decades.

   The story is set in a fishing village. Khalip and his friend Ali put to sea even on rough days, only to have their catch bought for a pittance and their money taken by local officials. Then the king and his consort travel among the people in disguise and see how hard life has become. Khalip is brought to the palace and invited to draw lots, and one of the slips grants him a single day as king. Khalip is played by Dinh Toan (Đình Toàn), Ali by Quoc Thinh (Quốc Thịnh).

   The script is by Vien Hung (Viễn Hùng), directed by Hung Lam (Hùng Lâm) and Dinh Toan, with stage design by Le Van Dinh (Lê Văn Định). Half the pleasure is in the cast: Dai Nghia (Đại Nghĩa) plays Japha, the dwarf grand vizier, and spends almost the whole show without standing up, moving in a seated position; Hong Anh (Hồng Ánh) breaks with her usual elegant roles to play a queen interested only in luxury and in undermining everyone around her; Cam Ho (Cẩm Hò) takes the part of the mermaid Ngư Nữ. The ensemble also includes Bach Long (Bạch Long), My Duyen (Mỹ Duyên), Quang Thao (Quang Thảo), Quoc Tuan (Quốc Tuấn), Tieu Minh Phung (Tiêu Minh Phụng) and Tam Anh (Tâm Anh).

   The play is exactly twenty years old: first staged at IDECAF in 2006, remade in 2015 for Nhà hát Bến Thành, and revived in 2023 as the opening production of the theatre's new era, after the older generation of actors led by Thanh Loc (Thành Lộc) left the company. Nhà hát Kịch IDECAF itself has been running since September 1997 and, by the end of 2016, had produced more than 100 plays for adults, 30 puppet shows for children and 29 editions of the children's series Ngày xửa... ngày xưa, with over 5,000 performances behind it.

   If you like costume comedy and want an easy evening in the old city centre, this is a sensible choice: the theatre stands a few minutes on foot from Nhà hát Thành phố, the Municipal Theatre. Both ticket tiers are marked as unsuitable for children under 8. The performance is in Vietnamese with no subtitles, although a fair share of the comedy is physical rather than verbal, starting with a grand vizier who never once gets to his feet.

   IDECAF puts tickets on sale in batches covering only a few days at a time, and the batch currently open holds a single performance of this production, so it is worth sorting out your seats early. What waits for you at 28 Lê Thánh Tôn is a warm, uncomplicated evening about two fishermen who suddenly find themselves at court.