Over 700 artistes from 11 arts troupes nationwide will participate in the annual National Tuong (classic drama) and Traditional Folk Opera Contest in Da Nang from August 20-29.

An actor from Nguyen Hien Dinh Theatre in Da Nang performs Tuong (Photo: Nguyen Hien Dinh Theatre)

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the contest will feature 17 performances, of which 10 are classic drama, during the 10-day event at Da Nang’s Trung Vuong Theatre.

Event organisers said each performance will last from 90 minutes to 150 minutes, and will depict Viet Nam’s past battles against enemies.

Gold medals will be awarded to the best performances, artistes, directors and choreographers.

The contest is an annual rendezvous for professional artistes to showcase their talents through their traditional arts performances.

Da Nang has introduced Tuong to the public and tourists through outdoor performances held every Sunday night.  Visitors will also be invited to try on costumes and take photos.

Tuong has been introduced at some of local junior high schools as a pilot project to preserve the century-old performance arts.

Last year, Tuong Xu Quang (Quang Nam’s classic drama) was recognised as the National Intangible Heritage..

Da Nang also has a collection of 204 classical Tuong scripts, written in Han (Chinese) and Vietnamese ideographic characters (Nom), and they were published from 1802-45.

(Source: VNA/ Da Nang Today)