The fifth International Experimental Theatre Festival kicked off on November 15 in Hanoi, drawing the participation of 16 local and foreign art troupes from the Republic of Korea, Poland, Singapore, Italia, Pakistan, and hosts Vietnam.
Artists from LucTeam of Vietnam perform a play shortly after the opening ceremony on November 15.
People's Artist Trinh Thuy Mui, president of the Vietnam Stage Artists' Association, said the festival would provide a prime opportunity for artists to hold exchanges and learn from each other, thereby introducing the diversity and richness of both Vietnamese and international theatrical art to local audiences.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong said the festival will serve as an ideal platform for artists to showcase their talents and develop theatrical art amid international integration, especially following a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival is set to get underway between November 15 and November 26, with audiences having the chance to watch plays for free in many venues across both Hanoi and Hai Phong City.
Immediately after the opening ceremony artists from LucTeam of Vietnam performed a play with the theme of “Antigone”, which is widely considered to be a masterpiece of global theater and literature dating back 2,500 years by Sophocles, a great playwright of ancient Greece.
Vietnam earlier held the festival four times in 2002, 2006, 2016, and 2019 under the auspices of the Vietnam Stage Artists' Association and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Performing Arts Department.