HÀ NỘI  A sparkling new collaboration takes centre stage as the German-Vietnamese co-production Ngọc Thủ (The Gem) is set to debut at the Việt Nam Youth Theatre on September 26.

The play’s producers include playwright Thomas Kock, stage designer Lina Oanh Nguyễn, and director Đào Duy Anh. Việt Nam News reporter Nguyễn Bình spoke with director Anh about the production.

How did you begin the theatre project between Việt Nam and Germany?

For me, this is a valuable opportunity. Collaborating with artists and producers in Germany helps me gain new experiences in staging methods. By making good use of the opportunity, I approach modern European theatrical thinking while introducing Vietnamese culture to international friends.

The important thing is that the project is not only a combination but also a bridge of cultural exchange where we learn from each other. Germans often have discipline and systematisation in staging, while Vietnamese artists bring more emotion, flexibility and closeness.

When the two sides meet, I believe we can create a work that is both internationally aesthetic and retains the mark of national identity.

As a director, I am both a learner and a connector. I hope this project will not only stop at a play but also open up a long-term relationship so that artists from both countries will have more opportunities to cooperate in the future.

How could you stage the play to combine the creative strenths of German and Vietnamese artists?

I think that any playwright leaves his mark on his thinking style, dramatic handling, philosophy of life and even recurring motifs in his works.

Playwright Kock is from Europe, where theatre works often have a tight structure, philosophical theory and emphasise inner struggles or symbolism.

If I keep the European characteristics, Vietnamese audiences may find it strange and not easy to sympathise with. If the translation is too much, the playwright's imprint will easily fade away.

So, as a director, I need to keep the Vietnamese audience aware that this is their story while still retaining the playwright's personal creativity.

Kock has proactively leaned towards a global story and opened up more widely, so editing and making it closer to young Vietnamese audiences is not too difficult.

The problem that the play raises is the intersection between the universe and the specificity of modern people today.

What challenges do you encounter in staging the play?

Stage designer Nguyễn is a Vietnamese diaspora artist. She has a profound understanding of European formal language but also has Vietnamese cultural roots.

This helps the play to be both internationally modern and rooted in Việt Nam. Nguyễn's aesthetic sense is minimalism and generalisation, while Vietnamese audiences prefer rich and specific details.

This may create a distance from the theatre-going habits of Vietnamese audiences. The theatre artists have been engaging in international exchange experiments and are always ready to explore new staging styles. This is an opportunity for them to learn other forms of expression.

Translated dialogue sometimes has difficulty retaining the original musicality and meaning. Metaphors familiar to European audiences can sometimes seem strange to Vietnamese audiences.

In short, the advantage is a multicultural resonance, while the difficulty is the gap in perception and expression. I try to find the intersection point so that the play has both an international creation and touches the hearts of Vietnamese audiences.

What do you think about German theatre?

Germany is one of the countries with the most vibrant and diverse theatre in the world, with a system of theatres spread throughout the country. German audiences also consider going to the theatre as part of their daily culture.

What impressed me is that they not only keep the classic values but also boldly experiment to create new trends in drama, opera, physical theatre and contemporary theatre.

That's why, when I have the opportunity to collaborate with the author and the artists from Germany, I am both excited and aware that I will learn a lot. At the same time, I have to find a way to make that creativity not too unfamiliar to Vietnamese audiences.

What do you think about theatre cooperation projects with foreign partners?

In fact, each international cooperation project opens up a new horizon for Vietnamese artists. For example, with Belgium's Théâtre des 4 Mains, I learned how they approach scripts for children. It is not simply storytelling for children, but a dialogue with the young audience.

That made me rethink theatre work, which needs to respect the audience's sensitivities.

Cooperation projects urge Vietnamese artists to become familiar with international standards from production processes and rehearsal to researching the social context of the work.

More importantly, it helps us realise that creativity is only truly meaningful when it touches the universality of humanity while still retaining Vietnamese culture.

I think it is that collision that makes the artistss thinking more open and daring to experiment further. VNS