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How much room should historical cải lương leave for fiction?

From Tuổi Trẻ · () Vietnamese

Translated from Vietnamese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Speakers at a Ho Chi Minh City workshop said historical cải lương can turn dry historical facts into emotionally engaging experiences for young audiences.
  • They argued that fictional details should remain grounded in the historical framework and serve character psychology or stage drama.
  • A young playwright described struggling with gaps in historical records before receiving encouragement to create within acceptable limits.

A university student unexpectedly sang “Mê Linh Farewell Song” from the historical cải lương play The Drums of Mê Linh during a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City. The performance became a reminder that Vietnamese historical theatre still has a place in young people’s memories and emotions.

The workshop, titled From Historical Pages to the Cải Lương Stage, took place on September 4 at Trần Hữu Trang Theatre. It formed part of a program examining historical memory and national cultural codes, organized by Ho Chi Minh City’s Council for Literary and Artistic Theory and Criticism, Ho Chi Minh City Television and TFS Film Studio.

Historical cải lương cannot replace textbooks in teaching Vietnamese history, but it has outstanding strengths that we need to use.

· Lê Nguyên ĐạtHe described the genre’s role in connecting young audiences with history and traditional art.

Participants discussed how to make historical cải lương attractive to today’s younger audiences. They said the genre cannot replace textbooks in teaching history, but its emotional power can help audiences love both Vietnamese history and traditional art. Dr. Lê Nguyên Đạt described cải lương as a distinctive channel for emotion, capable of turning dry historical data into deeply empathetic experiences.

Đạt said writers of historical plays always begin with the framework of recorded fact. Fictional details should clarify a character’s psychology or heighten the drama of the stage. Official histories may record a battle, he explained, while cải lương can explore what a hero feels before entering it.

Writers of historical plays always rely on the framework of truth.

· Lê Nguyên ĐạtHe explained how fictional details should operate within a factual historical structure.

Young writer Phạm Văn Đằng said he initially struggled to build stories and characters when historical books left parts of their lives unrecorded. He abandoned one script for an entire year. Encouragement from teacher Giang Mạnh Hà eventually led him to create within permitted boundaries and explore areas that history had left unclear, making historical figures and events more vivid.

The discussion also challenged the idea that young people have turned away from cải lương. One speaker compared the attention young audiences give to performers in Anh Trai Say Hi and Anh Trai Vượt Ngàn Chông Gai, suggesting they might also discover traditional theatre. A student studying Korean, however, said she was very fond of cải lương, pointing to the varied ways younger viewers engage with the form.

My teacher Giang Mạnh Hà encouraged me to create boldly within the permitted framework.

· Phạm Văn ĐằngThe young playwright described how he overcame difficulties writing around gaps in historical records.
About this summary

Originally published by Tuổi Trẻ in Vietnamese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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