“The fate of Kieu” is a play that the Vietnam National Puppetry Theater focuses on investing and staging to attend the 4th International Experimental Theater Festival - 2019 in Hanoi.
A scene in the puppet show The fate of Kieu at the Vietnam Natoinal Puppetry Theater.
The fate of Kieu is the immortal masterpiece of the great poet Nguyen Du, familiar with Vietnamese people, but when it comes to international friends and a young audience that does not have much appreciation for the work, also faces the most difficulties for the author, director ... because of the deep semantic layer of each character image. Each character in the Story of Kieu is a symbol of a human model in the old society such as Tu Ba, Ma Giam Sinh, Thuc Sinh, Tu Hai ... and especially Thuy Kieu. Many people are concerned about the information that the puppet theater boldly expresses the fate of Kieu because the puppet type is less than expressive of the face and body movements. Yet through the first performances, there were a lot of sharing about the work's early success.
The Story of Kieu is recounted in the puppet show "The fate of the Kieu" of the Vietnam National Puppetry Theater in accordance with the original flow with the connection between the performances by the expressions of contemporary art, by the character of the silk seller which careless sketchy in the work ... The first impression is the symbols for each character: Thuy Kieu is a face of a lovely lute, a silk seller with an ugly plow face, Tu Ba is a block round with two gourds hanging on the chest, Tu Hai is a square shape, Thuc Sinh is a heart face with a goatee, Hoan Thu's face is just a fan ... or as unique as a termite is just butterfly cloth and large lips. Throughout the play are soft silk like water, easy to curl, and white to be able to color each segment thanks to the light, especially the team of Barn-owl with large, hideous mouths, specializing in gossip, before and after big ups and downs for the character. The flexibility of moving puppets, moving puppet faces, bold flings at each stage, or a few appropriate cheerleading places has balanced the viewer. The very specific symbolic creations, along with the musical intentions of musician Nguyen Vinh Tien, are that each character has its own color gamut ...
The puppet "The fate of Kieu" is truly the test of all elements from music, shaping, choreography ... The artist collective has guided viewers' emotions throughout the woman's identity. The beauty "jealous of flowers is so jealous, the willow is less green ..." the talent is so "talented, you will be jealous ..." to express all the so-called fate of the old people. Focusing on the main character, the author and director also removed the characters like Thuy Van, Kim Trong ... and made clearer the idea of the vicious circle of the female status under the unjust regime. ... Overcoming the constraints of space and time of the catwalk, the artists have found the legendary colorful and colorful atmosphere of the puppets to portray the artistic image. Viewers seem to see more clearly the investment in the work when each puppet is extremely flexible, seeming to be one, in fact, it is properly expressed by two performers.
Screenwriter Mai Tham, when watching the play, said: “Once a reformist, I also acted in Kieu, so when I learned of the news, although curious, I did not have much confidence in puppetry with cloths. The lifeless bamboo stick can make a story, showing a very seasoned work, many details, and the character has quite complicated psychological changes. However, I enjoyed watching it. The play is like a animated, attractive movie ... ". Many audience members were also excited to learn such a simple explanation and approach to the fate of Kieu with such symbolism.
However, due to the search for comprehensiveness, the symbolism in the limited time of a performance, as well as the bondage of the stage and puppets, the show has not shown its diversity depth, richness of the character in the original. For example, the image of the character Thuc Sinh is represented by the cry of the goat, with the symbolic heart being a passionate, weak man ... somewhat not true to Thuc Sinh in the minds of lovers of the Story of Kieu. Or the insidiousness of Ho Ton Hien to persuade Kieu to advise Tu Hai to surrender seemed to be just reasons such as desire for fame, money, not wanting Tu Hai to go to war ... but losing important reasons. The most important thing that the original character has emphasized is that Kieu realizes that "In a thousand years, no one will praise Hoang Sao ..." means that "being an enemy" will never gain a good reputation, always "being an enemy" ...
In general, the play satisfies psychology of seeking new expression.
CAO NGOC - People's Newspap
