Looking back at the political stage in cultural life

Political theater - if properly fueled - will always be a vital part of cultural life in Ho Chi Minh City.

After the contest, the valuable thing is not only the result but also the initiative of each artist in approaching the audience, spreading the message of learning from Uncle Ho's example to the community.

On the morning of July 15 at the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association, the discussion "Dialogue Space: The Play and the Public" took place in a warm, sincere atmosphere, but also full of concerns and aspirations for innovation on the Ho Chi Minh City stage.

New vitality from everyday life examples

The event attracted special attention from artists, directors, writers, actors as well as theater researchers. This is not only an occasion to summarize the art from a specialized festival but also an opportunity to look back at an important stream - political theater in the cultural life of Ho Chi Minh City.

People's Artist Tran Ngoc Giau - Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association spoke at the seminar

At the seminar, 4 stage works that participated in the 5th National Professional Stage Arts Festival on "The Image of the People's Public Security Soldier" - 2025 were mentioned as special marks.

Belonging to different socialized theater units, the plays: "Deep Night" (Bronze Medal - Quoc Thao Theater), "Emotional Reunion" (Gold Medal - Truong Hung Minh Art Theater), "Another War" (Silver Medal - Hong Van Theater), "Sugar-Coated Bullet" (Association of Ho Chi Minh City University of Theater and Cinema) have all left deep impressions in the hearts of the capital's audience.

The Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association proposed that the Department of Culture - Sports and the Ho Chi Minh City Police organize a promotion of four works praising the image of the people's police officers through performances in the city, serving the public.

The artists participating in the discussion all shared the same opinion: Political theater, when nurtured with life experiences, with an artistic perspective rich in emotions and responsibility, can completely enter the hearts of viewers - especially when portraying the image of the people's police officer in a close, simple, and unadorned way.

"For a long time, we have only performed plays for entertainment purposes. This is the first time we have performed a political play and entered a competition, winning a gold medal. This is a great effort to work towards learning works following Uncle Ho's example" - Meritorious Artist Minh Nhi shared.

Artists in Ho Chi Minh City all believe that the most important thing is not the award, but that they have lived their lives to the fullest as artists - soldiers on the cultural front.

The play "Emotional Reunion" is an example. Without thrilling crime solving scenes, without need for ostentatious scenes, the play brings tears and sympathy to the audience with the story of two lost twin brothers and the very realistic portrayal of a female police officer, determined to solve the case, creating an opportunity for them to reunite even though her brother committed a serious crime.

From left to right: Author Hoai Huong, artist Binh Tinh, Meritorious Artist Minh Nhi, People's Artist Tran Ngoc Giau, Meritorious Artist Ca Le Hong at the discussion "Dialogue space: The play and the audience"

Stage - where literature and art meet the public

People's Artist Tran Ngoc Giau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association, commented: "The plays competing in the recent festival are not just individual works, but are the crystallization of many years of efforts from artists living and creating in Ho Chi Minh City. From there, a new direction for the theaters is to focus on improving the quality of the plays."

Quoc Thao Stage's play "Deep Night" takes the audience on a painful inner journey of a police officer in a cross-border criminal pursuit, in which the son of a police lieutenant colonel is a link in the chain. With minimalist staging techniques, the narrow stage space further highlights the loneliness and the struggle between justice and personal emotions.

HCM City artists participate in the discussion

Meanwhile, "Another War" (Hong Van Stage) raises a haunting question: Is peace in society worth the breakdown in the soldier's personal relationships? The story is not noisy but evokes many thoughts about silent wars, without guns and bullets but full of silent sacrifices.

The play "Sugar-Coated Bullet" - directed by young director Mi Le - brings a new breath of life thanks to the spirit of experimentation in staging and acting. Although it is a product of a university branch, this work has gone beyond the framework of the young actor training department to touch on current issues: The line of moral degradation of civil servants is very fragile. A female police officer is determined to solve the case even though the criminal is her close friend - the story opens up many thoughts about the young generation in the industry and in today's society.

Concerns and expectations

The discussion atmosphere became more serious when many artists expressed their feelings: Performing political theater in the era of marketization and entertainment is a difficult choice. Director Quoc Thao shared: "Sometimes, we have to accept losses in revenue to maintain a serious play. What keeps us going is the feedback from the audience."

Artists and journalists participate in the discussion program

Many opinions at the discussion also proposed the need for more policies to support political stage works, bringing good plays to students, young soldiers and workers - those who need access to works of artistic value. The space for dialogue does not only take place on stage, but also needs to spread to schools, factories and residential areas.

Political theater - if properly fueled - is always a part of cultural life in Ho Chi Minh City. The discussion vividly proves that: Amidst the chaos of the market, there are still many artists' hearts burning with the ideal of serving beauty, truth, and humanity. And the audience - when touched at the right point - is still ready to open their hearts to welcome, accompany and energize decent theaters.

Meritorious Artist Le Nguyen Dat believes that every artist is a soldier on the cultural front. The important thing is to choose how to be worthy of the role of an artist in society.

"We do not create the image of the hero as a monument, but try to clearly show the breath of life and real emotions. When the audience sees that the soldier also knows pain, knows how to sacrifice, knows how to preserve home and love, the stage has done the greatest thing - awakening sympathy from the audience" - artist Quoc Thao shared at the discussion.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/nhin-lai-san-khau-chinh-luan-trong-doi-song-van-hoa-196250715212851037.htm