Cai luong festival looks to veteran heroes, new faces

Lovers of cai luong, or traditional southern reformed theatre, cherish the belief that the art form can evolve as it passes from the older to the younger generation, a process that leads to new and higher heights of creativity.
But many fans in the city prefer to see veteran artists perform, as they did last night during the 2009 National Professional Cai Luong Festival staged at the city’s Tran Huu Trang Theatre.
"I don’t think the cai luong stage can light up without its big stars like Thanh Ngan and Vu Linh," said Phan Thi Thu Hoa, a resident in the city.
"Audiences, young and old, go to the theatre to see their idols who spent all of their lives to preserve the old form," said Hoa, who often chooses to see a cai luong play because of her favourite performers.
To please fans like Hoa, many cai luong troupes have spend a lot of money to invite stars to play leading roles in their shows, but this trend offers little opportunity for young artists to show off their talent.
However, some professional troupes participating in this week’s 10-day festival, the biggest of its kind, are giving audiences a different taste of the genre.
The Dong Thap Art Troupe, for example, has been featuring a group of young artists in its play, Tro Ve Mien Nho (Reviewing Memory), a work written by well-known author Le Duy Hanh.
The cast, including new faces like Hai Yen, found a new source of passion in singing cai luong with their older colleagues.
"Let the old rule, but we have also invested a lot to stage a quality play that uses young performers who may have no experience but are thirsty for performing and reinvigorating the classic pieces," said Minh Man, head of the Dong Thap Art Troupe.
Man said his troupe’s play was, for the most part, typically cai luong in both style and attendance, with nearly 100 actors and musicians participating.
"However, the show did provide some fresh additions to the genre," he said. "Our young artists promise to dazzle audiences with their singing and dancing."
"During rehearsals, my staff and I faced public pressure and we sometimes fell into despair," he said, adding that he believed that new innovations could spark young people’s interest in the dying art.
However, perseverance won out in the end.
"Unbelievably, local audiences cried and laughed with us," said Man after the first performance before an audience in the province’s Thap Muoi District.
"Through the festival, we hope cai luong troupes can try a new form and discover that the traditional art should be kept alive by young artists," said Le Duy Hanh, chairman of HCM City Theatre’s Association.
"We are living in a modern world," he said. "Why shouldn’t our cai luong be staged by young artists combining the traditional and the modern on stage?"
Hanh said cai luong troupe leaders should create an open environment for their staff to bridge the gap between older and newer ones, giving all artists a chance to show off their creativity and skills.
But not everyone appreciates the experiment.
"In cai luong, young artists are unprofessional even though they try their best," said Tran Minh Chien, a fan from HCM City.
Chien believes in the cai luong performed by traditional artists who have spent at least 10 years learning the craft.
The festival attracted more than 1,000 young and veteran performers from 29 professional troupes across the country.
The artists are vying for a variety of awards, including best play, best director, best actor, best musician and best stage artist.
The event will close on November 27. Most plays are being staged at the Tran Huu Trang Theatre and HCM City Theatre, both located on Tran Hung Dao Street in District 1.