Viet Nam National Drama Theatre will perform Ngheu So Oc Hen (The Stories of the Clam, Oyster, Snail, and Mussel) in a tour around European countries from 31 March.

Ngheu So Oc Hen will be performed at Hotel Salomon de Rothschild, Paris on 31 March.

Ngheu So Oc Hen, one of the masterpieces of Vietnamese folk comedy theatre, has been staged in many different forms such as tuong (classical opera), cheo (popular opera), cai luong (reformed theatre) and drama. The folk tale is said to have originated from the central province of Quang Nam.

The four main characters are named Clam, Oyster, Snail and Mussel. Mussel is a beautiful widow who is always flirted with by village authorities. The story depicts a rural Vietnamese area under feudalism on the decline.

The first folk tale–based script for tuồng was penned by folk culture researchers Hoang Chau Ky and Tong Phuoc Pho in 1965. Viet Nam National Drama Theatre has since staged the work many times.

The first version by director Duong Ngoc Duc resonated strongly in Russia in 1982, while director Tu Mai brought the drama to international theatre festivals in the Czech Republic and South Korea in 2006 and 2007.

The drama will take the stage at Hotel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris on March 31. The show is a sideline at Vietnam Global Leaders Forum held in Paris to bring together the world’s top leaders, high-profile figures and successful start-ups all over the world with a passion and ambition for branding Viet Nam.

The theatre’s deputy director Nguyen Xuan Bac will present on culture and people at the forum.

"We want to bring a play that has folklore characteristics to entertain Vietnamese audiences living far away the homeland," said Bac.

After the Paris show the artists will perform in Berlin, Budapest and the Czech Republic.

(Source: AFP)