From Manuscript to Stage: Celebrating the Vu Dinh Long Archive and Legacy
- When
Mon 14 Dec 2026
- Where
Hanoi
By its open studio "From Manuscript to Stage: Celebrating the Vu Dinh Long Archive and Legacy", Vu Dan Tan Museum opens the series of multidisciplinary programs and events that break the boundaries of a traditional "fine art" museum concept and encompass a variety of cultural constituents, including theater, music, literature, etc.
Our first program centered on literature and theater is associated with the opening of the Vu Dinh Long Room, which is dedicated to honoring Vu Dan Tan’s father, Vu Dinh Long (1896-1960), a distinguished Vietnamese playwright and publisher.
Vu Dinh Long is acknowledged as a pioneer of modern Vietnamese theater, having authored the first ‘spoken play’ or kịch nói entitled ‘A Cup of Poison’ in 1921 that marked a departure from the traditional theatrical musical genres.
Besides writing his own plays, Vu Dinh Long has translated foreign dramas and comedies as well as adapted them to fit the Vietnamese context, a process he refers to as their "vietnamization".
In addition to his writing endeavors, Vu Dinh Long was also a proactive publisher. His publishing house ‘Tan Dan’ (1925 -1954), produced significant works by Vietnamese authors and published several prominent literary magazines.
The open studio introduces to the audience a diverse array of materials, including manuscripts of Vu Dinh Long’s plays, personal photographs, interviews, correspondence, journals published by 'Tan Dan', conference papers, newspaper clippings, and recent publications of his literary creations. The collection of documents housed in these archives offers significant context for comprehending both the contributions and legacy of the writer, along with the historical evolution of Vietnamese drama as a whole.
