HÀ NỘI The best theatre artists and works of the past year have been honoured at a conference held at the Ha Noi Opera House.

The conference, granting awards to theatrical artists and productions in 2021, was organised on Monday by the Viet Nam Theatre Artists Association. The event was attended by representatives of many art units and senior artists nationwide.

Specifically, the highest prize in the category of Theatrical Performance in 2021 was given to three plays, namely Lang Song Sinh by the Ha Noi Drama Theatre, Lam Vua by the Viet Nam Tuồng Theatre and Truan Chuyen Yếm Đao by the Cải Lương Theatre of Viet Nam.

Five high quality plays by the Military Drama Theatre, the Military Cheo Theatre, the Le Ngọc Theatre, the Viet Nam Drama Theatre and the Tay Đo Theatre received second prizes in the category.

In the category of Scriptwriter - Book of Critical Research in 2021, the association awarded two first prizes, each worth VNĐ20 million (US$870) to Mưa Đỏ (Red Rain) by author Chu Lai and Mỹ Thuật San khấu Viet Nam (Theatrical Fine Arts of Viet Nam) by Associate Professor Đoan Thị Tình.

Five second prizes and seven consolation prizes were also presented to authors with high-quality scripts and theoretical research books.

The theatre awards also honoured seven outstanding artists of 2021, including Tạ Minh Tuấn from the Viet Nam Drama Theatre for his role as General Trần Thủ Đo in the play Thien Menh, Thuy Dương from the Ha Noi Drama Theatre for her role in Lang Song Sinh, and Trần Hoang Khanh from the Tay Đo Theatre for his part in Tiếng Gọi Non Song, among others.

On this occasion, the Viet Nam Theatre Artists Association also paid tribute and presented gifts to senior artists with significant contributions to theatre arts.

According to its chairwoman, artist Trịnh Thuy Mui, the association was determined to fulfil its targets despite the complicated situation of the COVID-19 pandemic nationwide.

"Specifically, the association collaborated with the Nha Trang Writers Association to open a theatrical scriptwriting workshop in April 2021. Eight quality scripts were selected from the event and sent to professional art units, five of which have been performed to the public,” Mui said.

The online contest for theatre works on the topic of COVID-19 prevention and control received more than 200 entries last year. Its organisation board awarded 38 first prizes, 24 second prizes for works and two excellent awards for individual artists in terms of directing and cinematography.

“The contest has achieved high artistic efficiency while promoting the sense of responsibility among the stage artists in the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she noted.

The association also cooperated with the culture ministry to launch major events like the week celebrating 100 years of the Viet Nam Drama Theatre (1921-2021) in Ha Noi in October, an introduction of the iconic play Chen Thuốc Đoc (The Cup of Poison) or a workshop on 100 years of establishment and development of the theatre, among others.

“More training workshops for theatre artists will be held in 2022. The association will continue to collaborate with the culture ministry's Department of Performing Arts to launch many major art events like the National Folk Opera Festival in Nghe An Province or the International Circus Festival in Ha Noi,” Mui revealed. VNS