Play «Thần Tiên Cũng Nổi Điên» («Even Fairies Lose Their Minds»)

   Seventeen actors, red archways, sequins and evening gowns: for one afternoon a Saigon drama stage goes all in on glamour. If you have been curious about Vietnamese spoken theatre outside the festival circuit — the everyday, repertory kind that locals actually go to — this is an easy way in.

   The poster sets the register: the cast lined up under three red arches, one in a sequinned dress, another in a long velvet cape, one more wearing an entire red flower on their head, and the title spelled out in soft, glittery lettering. The name plays on thần tiên, the Vietnamese word for fairies or celestial beings — roughly, even they lose their minds.

   At a glance:

• — Directed by Cao Tan Loc (Cao Tấn Lộc), written by Hong Phuc (Hồng Phúc) and Thien An (Thiên Ân)
• — A cast of seventeen, among them Tieu Bao Quoc (Tiểu Bảo Quốc), Gia Bao (Gia Bảo), Thuan Nguyen (Thuận Nguyễn), Minh Du (Minh Dự), Phuong Lan (Phương Lan) and Truong Huynh Nhu (Trương Huỳnh Như)
• — Set design by Quoc Toan (Quốc Toàn), music by Tuan Vu (Tuấn Vũ), sound by Nguyen Vinh (Nguyễn Vinh) and Binh Tan (Bình Tân), lighting by Tony Tung
• — Produced by Tran Dai (Trần Đại) and An Thi
• — The theatre publishes no synopsis: the show's page carries only the poster, the schedule and the cast

   It suits anyone who wants to see the city's drama scene the way locals use it, and anyone who follows the comic actors working on this stage: the trailer the theatre links from the show's page is labelled simply hài kịch, comedy.

   The venue is worth a line of its own. It is a privately run repertory stage with a busy board — around ten titles a month, mostly on weekends, thrillers and comedies side by side — and a hall of a little over three hundred seats, close enough that facial expressions carry.

   Seats come in three grades, standard, VIP and VVIP, and what changes is how close you sit; you pick your seat on the plan when you book.

   The performance is in Vietnamese.

   An afternoon to watch a city theatre treat itself to some sparkle.