Besides European countries such as France, England, Germany, Greece, Romania, this year's festival welcomed the appearance of theater-passionate youths from other continents: Canada, Algeria, and Vietnam. During almost 30 years of the event's history, his is the first time that a troupe from Asia had attended it. Recipient of this honor, in nearly two months, the 13 members of the Thăng Long  troupe and their instructors had worked hard to introduce Vietnam to international friends through a play imbued with national identity named "Ngày Xưa (Old Days)” directed by teachers Quentin Delorme and Marianne Seguin. The play debuted at 16h30, July 10th at Grenoble Conservatory.

The play's poster, designed by crew member

"“Ngày Xưa” adapted four Vietnamese legends and fairy tales: tales of the Gourd, children of Dragon and Fairy, Tet Holiday's neu tree, and the origin of betel and areca. The play had four acts corresponding to the four tales, telling stories from the formation of Earth, Sky, Nature, Human; the emergence of the 54 ethnic groups, the battle between human and Demon; to simple daily life with feelings of brotherhood and marriage, etc. The story contents are preserved with mythical imagery such as Demon, Nine-tailed Fox, and Saints and Gods. Additions were there to adapt to the theater form and add a touch of humor to the play, through the performance of amateur actors and actresses of classes French 1 & 2, 1316.

Credit: Clément Ségissement

With a view to introducing a new image of Vietnam other than rice paddies, women in ao dai, or non la, which are prevalent in postcards, the troupe invested heavily on both performance and props. All props were brought from  and were very characteristically Vietnam, from silk cloth, to bamboo sticks, to head scarf, to Dao people's costume, etc.

Credit: Clément Ségissement

In addition, Thăng Long troupe hoped to bring to the audience a more diverse view of Vietnam in general and Vietnam's traditional tales in specific through both the minutiae on stage to the broader meanings behind the performance. The play is not only a story: it is also a reminder that of Vietnam's 54 fraternal ethnicities, all must be fee, equal in rights and duties, united in hardship, and sharing in happiness. All over the world, there are many countries in which issues of freedom and equality have not been resolved. Thus, in this Festival, "Ngày Xưa" was highly evaluated for both performance and script. M. Fabrice Marin-Lamellet, who has accompanied the Festival for many years, said: "The troupe from Vietnam are 'strangers' coming to this Festival for the first time, but the audience will not be able to forget them! A really "explosive" performance, where fairy tales are adapted to short acts, where players play to their fullest selves, drawing the audience into their interaction, joining to fun on stage. Thank you for bringing to the auditorium satisfying, engaging, and refreshing hours with "Ngày Xưa!"

Credit: Clément Ségissement

Besides playing "Ngày Xưa", the Thăng Long troupe had the opportunity to enjoy the plays of other delegations and participating in a Café discussion session about the performances the next day. More especially, each member was able to participate in one of the on-demand classes: Performance, Dance, Music, Fire-dance, Batucada Drum, Costume, Makeup, etc. in preparation for the parade and outdoor performance in the closing ceremony. Although th 10-day schedule is arduous, everyone was excited to exchange, make new friends, and learn mor about both stage art and other cultures. As the Festival ended, there were both happiness and sadness, but what ultimately remained in the of participants were unforgettable beautiful memories with international friends in the heart of a small, peaceful French city.

Images of lessons with the participation f Thăng Long troupe members

(credit: Clément Ségissement)

Immediately after the last day of the Festival, the Thăng Long troupe set out to visit two grand cities of France: Lyon and Paris, before heading back to Vietnam. In the capital city, Paris, the delegation of 13 students and their instructors was honored to visit the Vietnamese Embassy in French, and to have a coversation with the Ambassador and education and culture specialists on the delegation's trip and prospects of their studyign abroad in the future. Though short, the meeting mad members of the delegation proud of and ore clearly aware of the responsibility of youths in broadcasting Vietnam's image to the world through both intellectual fields, such as specialized studies and cultural fields, such as theater - performance.

We are hopeful that in the coming years, new memera of the Thăng Long troupe will be able to continue attending European Youth Theater Encounter Festival to learn from and share their passion with young talents from all over the world!

Reporter: Bui Giang (P2 1316)

Translator: Nguyen Tien Thanh (A1 1316)