Hanoi to have two more theatres

     Hanoi is about to have two new theatres after artists complained of having no theatres for performing and the media reported there had been no new theatre in the capital city since 1954.
The two new “theatres” are not in fact theatres, and neither are they new, because the structures were built 30-90 years ago. However, as theatres and art spaces they are new, and the art community is excited about the prospects.
From Khai Tri Tien Duc house to Vietnamese cultural space
This house is located at the best place in Hanoi and perhaps the best place in Vietnam. One side runs along Le Thai To road, facing Hoan Kiem Lake. The other side looks onto Hang Trong street. Built in 1910, this house has been used by many people and in different ways.
It was the head office of Khai Tri Tien Duc Association, a society of Hanoian intellectuals, in the early 20th century. After 1954, the house became Thong Nhat Club. After 1975, this house was a booking office of Vietnam Airlines. In the early 1990s, the Culture Ministry used the house as a club. After that, it was hired as a Japanese restaurant.
In September 2009, this ancient and charming house will become the “Vietnamese Cultural Space” with a 300-seat theatre, an outdoor stage and a painting exhibition room.
The one who won the right to develop this golden land plot is People’s Artist Tran Binh, Director of the Central Light Music Theatre.
Binh said that the new theatre will offer various forms of art, satisfying the tastes of different audiences. The outdoor stage will be reserved for traditional arts like cheo, ca tru, ao dao and dry puppetry.
In the house’s waiting-room, a gallery sponsored by a big insurance group will regularly introduce paintings by famous artists in the foursome of Nghiem – Lien – Sang – Phai (Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Duong Bich Lien, Nguyen Sang and Bui Xuan Phai) and other big names in the Vietnamese painting circle.
The centre of this cultural space is a 300-seat room which will be open every day, except for Monday. The room will be equipped with a state-of-the-art audio system meeting standards of symphonic music and contemporary art shows.
Thien Quang Lake’s islet – Youth Union cooperates with artists
Youth Theatre’s director Chi Trung said that the combination is wonderful and it should have happened many years ago.
The Youth Union owns the house on Thien Quang Lake’s islet, a very beautiful place in the heart of Hanoi, which is not used effectively. The house has been hired for organising meetings and wedding parties. Meanwhile, the Youth Theatre offers many good shows, but they don’t have a good venue in which to perform.
The cooperation between the two sides has created a 500-seat theatre. As of July 3, 2009, the second troupe of the Youth Theatre will be based on the islet. The theatre will open every night.
“Having a stable place to perform, we can work out long-term plans. Firstly, we will still perform comedies. From July 3-31, we will perform Doi Cuoi (The Comedy of Life) 5, 6, 7 and 8. As of August 1, we will introduce three new comedies: Anh Hung Chay Tron (Runaway Hero), Chuyen Loa Phuong (Stories of Public Speakers) and Sieu Thi Cuoi (Supermarket of Laughter). We will have a drama about youth this year’s end.
“The short-term purpose is reducing the load on the Youth Theatre (11 Ngo Thi Nham, Hanoi), which hosts four drama troupes. The medium-term goal is building a new stage for performance art for youth. I have prepared several hundred million dong to compensate the new theatre for losses in the beginning period. We will sell tickets to students in the mode, buy one, get one free. Our long-term target is turning this theatre into an Idecaf of Hanoi (Idecaf is a popular theatre in HCM City).”