Play «Ai Xuôi Vạn Lý»

   A corrupt district mandarin and his wife scheme to enrich themselves at the expense of the common people - and two young lovers stand in their way. «Ai Xuôi Vạn Lý» is the new production at Hoang Thai Thanh, one of Ho Chi Minh City's few dedicated straight-drama stages.

   The play is credited to Hoàng Thái Thanh and Minh Hảo and directed by Huỳnh Công Hiển. Mandarin Bá Tòng and his wife Mai Trang are played by Thành Hội and Ái Như, the theatre's leading actors, with Đoàn Minh Tài and Hồng Duyên as the young couple caught in the plot, and Ngọc Duyên, Nguyễn Long, Khánh Vân, Thế Hải and Sĩ Hoàng in the rest of the cast.

   Performances run in weekend blocks since 20 September; the next show on sale is Saturday, 14 November at 7pm. Tickets are 280,000–300,000₫ depending on the seat category; once bought, they are not refundable.

   Good for anyone curious about Southern Vietnamese stage drama rather than the usual comedy fare - this is a serious piece with a clear moral conflict, not a sketch show. It's staged in Vietnamese with no subtitles, so some spoken Vietnamese helps. The theatre asks that children under 6 not attend, as the play is for adult audiences; children over 6 need their own ticket.

   The venue is a small black-box space on the 4th floor at 139 Bắc Hải - book ahead, the room doesn't hold many rows.