This is also considered an opportunity to look back at the potential of performing arts and expect to create new momentum to bring Ho Chi Minh City's theater to develop more strongly in the strategy of building a cultural industry.
Recreating heroic historical periods
The 50th anniversary of Saigon - Gia Dinh city officially named after President Ho Chi Minh is not only a political and cultural event of special significance but also becomes an opportunity for the city's stage life to become more vibrant with many large-scale performance programs.
Unlike previous years, this activity period recorded the simultaneous participation of both public art units and socialized theaters. A series of works that achieved high results at the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Festival were brought back to serve audiences for free in many areas of Ho Chi Minh City.
Plays such as: Comrade, Fiery Field, That Day Heaven Gate, Aspiration for Peace or Sword and Mother all exploit stories about revolutionary war, spirit of sacrifice and aspiration to build the country. Not only recreating heroic historical periods, the works also raise many reflections on the responsibility of today's generation for the development of the city.
In addition, socialized theaters also bring works that have affirmed artistic quality and appeal to audiences such as "Bong canh co", "Mot cuoc chien khay", "Ma oi, ut dia!", "Duc Thuong Cong Ta quan" Le Van Duyet - The person who carried 9 death sentences.
The fact that theaters are responding together shows that performing arts still play an important role in urban cultural life. More importantly, this is an opportunity for audiences, especially young people, to access many quality works that not everyone had the opportunity to enjoy before.
The performance also partly reflects a noteworthy reality that, despite having to compete with many modern entertainment types, Ho Chi Minh City's theater still possesses a large force of artists, a team of experienced creators and a dynamic socialized theater system - a foundation that few localities have.
Creating long-term development momentum
Not only stopping at the meaning of celebrating a historical milestone, this series of activities also raises expectations for a new turning point for the Ho Chi Minh City stage.
In the cultural industry development strategy, performing arts are identified as one of the eight key areas. With a socialized foundation formed decades ago and a large audience market, Ho Chi Minh City is assessed to have many conditions to develop into the theater center of the country.
However, according to People's Artist My Uyen, although the city's stage has made significant changes, there are still many materials and many potentials to exploit further.
Many theaters still have to operate in conditions of renting premises, lacking standard theaters to develop brands and expand revenue outside of ticket sales. Therefore, many units still mainly survive thanks to the enthusiasm of artists rather than a sustainable cultural business model.
In that context, the city's organization of a large-scale series of performances on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the city named after Uncle Ho not only contributes to bringing the stage closer to the public but also creates more motivation for art units to invest in new works, restore valuable plays and expand the audience.
If such programs are maintained regularly, combined with support policies on infrastructure, operating mechanisms and promotion, the theater will have more opportunities to build a stable market, while contributing more to the cultural industry.
The 50-year milestone of Saigon - Gia Dinh city named after President Ho Chi Minh is therefore not only an opportunity to look back at the city's development path, but can also become the starting point for a new stage - where historical values are told in modern artistic language, both nurturing the spiritual life of the public and creating cultural products with spreading power and economic value in the future.
