The launching ceremony of the two plays by The National Dramatic Theatre and The Youth Theatre in Hanoi 30 December 2009 caught great attention of local media in Vietnam. People’s Artist Le Hung, director of the two theatres, and also of the two plays, revealed his ambitious plan ‘to feature the classic masterpieces to dialogue with the world.’ Director Le Hung has dreamt about setting up the play Brand since he graduated in Russia.
– The philosophy of Brand inspired me, he said,
– I even had the chance to see it in Norway, but I didn’t agree with the director’s interpretation of the play.
So, Le Hung will make it his own way. He now has in his team an advisor of literature script, Dr. Nguyen Thi Minh Thai, a well-known Vietnamese literature, theatre and arts critic; and two outstanding artists: Phung Huy Binh (The Wild Duck) and Do Doan Chau (Brand).
Norwegian support
With the contributions from Vietnamese artists, actors and actresses, the director Le Hung is confident in the success of the two plays. And Dr. Minh Thai adds that this will be a firm voice of Vietnamese theatre on the world stage. Norway continues to support Vietnamese theatres in setting up the works of Ibsen and thereby strengthening cultural cooperation between the two countries.