Play «Một Mối Tình» (A Love Affair)

   «Có những vết thương không thể nói ra thành lời» — «there are wounds that cannot be put into words». Sân Khấu Mới put that line on the poster of its September evening in central Ho Chi Minh City: a quiet story of one attachment, grown out of southern Vietnamese prose, with ten actors on stage. If you want to see Vietnamese theatre the way local audiences see it, this is a fair place to start.

   The production is billed as «cảm tác», a free stage fantasy on the short story of the same name by the writer Nguyen Ngoc Tu (Nguyễn Ngọc Tư). Born in 1976 in Ca Mau (Cà Mau) province, she writes short stories, essays, novels and poetry, and almost everything she writes grows out of the rural South and the waterways of the Mekong Delta. Her best-known book, «Cánh đồng bất tận», came out in 2005; she received the Vietnam Writers Association Award in 2006, the Southeast Asian Literature Award in 2008 and Germany's LiBeraturpreis in 2018.

   At a glance:
— the source is Nguyen Ngoc Tu's short story of the same name, not a ready-made play
— ten actors on stage: Hoai Linh (Hoài Linh), Quach Ngoc Tuyen (Quách Ngọc Tuyên), Huynh Bao Ngoc (Huỳnh Bảo Ngọc), Thuy Trang (Thùy Trang), Mac Van Khoa (Mạc Văn Khoa), Nguyen Anh Tu (Nguyễn Anh Tú), Cong Danh (Công Danh), Viet Trang (Việt Trang), Minh Man (Minh Mẫn), Gia Huy
— staged by Sân Khấu Mới, produced by Wolf Entertainment
— a single performance, with no other dates currently listed

   The most recognisable name of the evening is Hoai Linh (Hoài Linh), born Vo Nguyen Hoai Linh (Võ Nguyễn Hoài Linh). On stage since 1987, he is described as one of Vietnam's most prominent comic actors of the 2000s and 2010s, and in 2015 he was awarded the state title of Merited Artist (Nghệ sĩ Ưu tú).

   The venue is Nhà hát Cải lương Trần Hữu Trang, a cải lương theatre rebuilt on the foundations of the old Rạp Hưng Đạo hall of 1960 and opened on 18 April 2015. Five floors and a basement level, 600 seats in the auditorium.

   The evening suits readers of Vietnamese prose and anyone just approaching it, fans of Hoai Linh, and anyone curious about the city's drama stage rather than only its concert calendar. Bring someone along, because this is the kind of story you keep talking about afterwards.

   The play is performed in Vietnamese.

   If unhurried southern prose and unglossy live theatre appeal to you, keep this September evening free.