French-Vietnamese dramas impress French audiences

      Over 20 French show organisers want to invite two Vietnamese-French dramas entitled “Sand Circle” and “Lady Antigone” to France in 2010-2011.
An actor of the Vietnam Tuong Theatre delivers pamphlets to market the dramas in France.
The 63rd International Stage Art Festival is running at Avignon city, France from July 8-31, with 825 art troupes from around the world. Vietnam contributes two stage works, which are joint products with France, “Sand Circle” and “Lady Antigone”. The two dramas have impressed French audiences at this year’s D’Avignon Stage Festival.
“Sand Circle”, written and directed by Alain Destandau, marked the first successful cooperation between Vietnamese tuong and French mask drama with over 100 shows organised in Vietnam and other countries since 2006.
At the D’Avignon Stage Festival, “Sand Circle” is on stage at 7.15 pm everyday, at the Monter Charge Theatre. So far, the drama has attracted more than 1000 viewers.
“Lady Antigone” has been as similarly successful. These dramas are unique because they are a mixture of Vietnamese and French stage arts. The two dramas are performed by Vietnamese and French artists, who speak different languages but co-ordinate very smoothly in the same dramas.
“Lady Antigone” is available at the Monter Charge Theatre at 1.45 pm every day and it also has attracted around 1000 viewers.
The two dramas have been called among the most unique and attractive at the festival. Over 20 French show organisers have asked to buy “Sand Circle” and “Lady Antigone” for 2010-2011 shows.
“Sand Circle” is the inspiration of a meeting between Monte Charge Theatre and Tuong Theatre, which brings together two languages and cultures in a story.
Through conversation between characters without translation and on a stylised stage with just a simple sand circle, the story is told. With the focus on the actors, costumes and the stage arrangement, the performance amalgamates Vietnamese Tuong and masked performances, illustrating the artistic common ground between. Magnanimity, generosity, sacrifice and faith are messages “Sand Circle” characters try to spread through their stories.
Actors and actresses are Betina Sccheenberger, Alian Destandau, Richard Catre, Nguyen Thi Loc Huyen, Nguyen Gia Khoan, Le Hai Van.
This cooperation project is funded by Pau City, Pyrenees Atlantiques Council, d’Aquitaine Council, L’Espace, the French Embassy in Hanoi, Francophone Organisation, Ministry of Culture and Information, and Vietnam Tuong Theatre.
Lady Antigone is also a joint production between the French Monte-Charge Theatre and the Viet Nam National Theatre of Tuong.
The drama is based on a story about Lady Antigone in Europe. The drama is about Tiane, a nice simple girl born into a royal family. Whatever happiness she enjoys as a child is stripped from her once the war breaks out. Her father and brothers all die, leading to her uncle appropriating the throne. Since women were not allowed to bury men at the time, she accepts sacrificing herself to bury her brother. Just as she faces death, doves that she previously liberated from their cage come back to save her.
The 60-minute drama is a perfect combination between the Vietnam Tuong Theatre and the Monte-Charge Theatre. In this drama, Vietnamese and French artists use their own languages.