"National debt" and historical tragedies

The script collection “Debt to the Country” includes 7 plays: “Cao Ba Quat”, “Nguyen Cong Tru”, “Debt to the Country”, “Ho Chi Minh Moments”, “The Returning Person”, “Human Faced Demon”, “Inspector Officer”. Most of these scripts have been brought to life in the spotlight with roles. Many plays in this book have been staged and performed with great success, some of which have won high prizes in festivals and awards in the national theater industry. For example, the play “Quan Lon Ve Lang” is based on the play “Quan Thanh Tra” by the great Russian writer Nikolai Vassilievich (1809-1852) with the script written by Pham Quang Long. The play won 4 Gold Medals at the 2011 National Cheo Festival. In addition to the Gold Medal for the play, “Quan Lon Ve Lang” also brought 3 individual Gold Awards to artists Quoc Anh, Thu Huyen and Thu Hang.

Associate Professor Dr. Pham Quang Long speaking at the Workshop. (Photo: Thanh Long/USSH)

Talking about the historical characters built in his work, author Pham Quang Long once shared:"I write about them as people who lived before us. They have become famous through many real and unreal things. I study them and history (official and unofficial) can only give me the results of their work, the reasons for which they are honored or criticized. I study the ways they got there and am helpless because nothing shows me these specific things. I have to write about them through what I imagine. So my character is a fictional character, a product of me, like a novel character, nothing is taken from their biography."

According to critics, the play “Debt to the Country” is not only significant in terms of current events, but also scientifically meaningful in terms of suggesting and explaining the complexities of the nature of the tragedy genre, the poetic and thematic characteristics of historical drama… Therefore, not only stopping at the purpose of launching a book, this event also aims to discuss general issues of universal significance for the entire stage art of Vietnamese dramatic literature today.

Specific topics that critics and researchers discussed at the workshop: general assessment of the play "Debt to the Country" and the play collection "Debt to the Country" and the "phenomenon" of author Pham Quang Long; the play collection "Debt to the Country" from the perspective of genre; the relationship between literary scripts and traditional operas; the relationship between artistic fiction and historical documents in literature and art; the nature of tragedy and the history of Vietnamese drama; forecasting the development of historical drama...

The workshop was also an occasion to launch the Center for Research and Application of Arts and Culture. In the photo, Associate Professor Dr. Pham Quang Minh (right, Vice Rector) presents relevant decisions to Associate Professor Dr. Pham Thanh Hung (Director of the Center). (Photo: Thanh Long/USSH)

Here are some comments from critics at the conference:

Professor Ha Minh Duc: "Debt to the Country" contains new thinking, new ideas

For author Pham Quang Long, the launch of this book is a “breakthrough”. This book has up to eight plays. This is truly a grand “launch”, a very worthy contribution of Pham Quang Long. The proof is that this play collection has been staged by Cheo, Drama and Cai Luong troupes for public performance.

The biggest advantage of this script is in the new thinking, new thinking. The way of thinking is very important and it is very difficult for us to find new ways of thinking. Pham Quang Long always shows new thinking, good ability to make fiction and imagine in his works. I respect Pham Quang Long's talent. And this is truly a "bright" breakthrough.

Researcher Nguyen Hung Vi: Respect and admire the working example of Mr. Pham Quang Long

“Debt to the Country” is a collection of literary scripts by an Associate Professor majoring in Literary Theory, consisting of 7 scripts completed in 8 years as Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This was a period when the author was busy with countless management tasks, the difficulties of family matters, and the complexities of human affairs. It is an example of hard work that I personally respect and admire. Even more, it is a quiet, persistent passion for the literary career, the career for which the author was trained and devoted himself.

Certainly with these scripts, Mr. Pham Quang Long is completely worthy of being a contemporary playwright. In addition to scripts, I know that in the past 8 years, he has also written no less than 200 articles for the media and is completing some quite special prose works. His working capacity is intense, his passion is constant. Knowing that, we understand why at the age of 60, he resolutely refused other promising positions to retire completely, to devote himself to the creative urge that was urging him. Knowing that, we can understand better why his peers insisted on persuading him to return to his beloved Faculty of Literature to continue helping the school, training students in the new environment. And he respected and indulged his friends.

Literature is the call of birds to their flocks. His example and hidden talent urge us to sit at our desks every day, to contribute a little of our old strength to the tradition of the Faculty of General Literature and to this grateful school.

A scene from the final part of the play "Debt to the Country" performed by artists from the Hanoi Opera House (excerpt) at the Workshop. (Photo: Thanh Long/USSH)

Researcher Tran Hinh: "Debt to the Country" is a breakthrough in the historical drama genre.

Pham Quang Long is a teacher, even a teacher of Literary Theory, a seemingly paradoxical subject for a creative writing field like stage drama. Pham Quang Long has been involved in management for many years in many different positions such as: Head of the Faculty of Literature, Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vice President of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and most recently, Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. A little bit of the qualities of a teacher, theorist, and manager, combined with the struggles to complete all the above tasks, has helped him accumulate a lot of life experience to write his plays. I think that is enough for a theorist to become a creative writer, just like what he has had in Hanoi's stage life in recent years.

The Northern stage life in recent years cannot be denied to be too "sluggish", but on the other hand, it cannot be denied that there were times when it raised a few voices that caused public opinion to "stir up". Although he was an amateur playwright, Pham Quang Long also had plays that were part of that "stir up". Some people did not believe in his real ability in this unfamiliar field, and some people reacted to some fictional points in the historical events in his plays. Personally, I think that if his historical plays are considered a real genre, then through the 4 plays in his book, "Nợ nước Sông" is a breakthrough in the genre of historical plays.

Historical topics are always a difficulty and challenge for all writers, playwrights, and filmmakers, not only in our country. For many years, in any field of artistic creation, from literature, theater to cinema, I have heard complaints from those involved that it is "too weak"! So what are the difficulties for writers in this field? Why do artists who are considered "those who dig deep into their thoughts, find sources that no one has yet discovered and create things that have not yet existed" have such difficulties in their creative work? I think the difficulty lies in our own clichéd thoughts. The field of "creative writing" itself does not pose any obstacles for artists. The lesson "Debt of the Country" by Pham Quang Long may open up some thoughts for us. Perhaps, with historical works, writers must first dare to break the mold, which means they must dare to overcome an invisible barrier that prevents our own creative thinking. The break-through must start with the writers themselves, then consider the audience, and finally the managers.