Image of General Nguyen Chi Thanh on the Army Cheo stage

The image of General Nguyen Chi Thanh, a true Communist, a Party and military leader with strategic vision, always close to the people and for the people, an excellent student and colleague of President Ho Chi Minh, was built on the stage of the Army Cheo Theater in the play "Shine as a pearl, a person" which debuted on the evening of December 23 in Hanoi.

Scene in the play: A person as clear as jade.

The play Bright as a Pearl, a Person, was written by writer Nguyen Quang Vinh, directed by People's Artist Doan Hoang Giang; and directed by the Director of the Army Cheo Theatre - Meritorious Artist Dao Le. The play was completed and premiered on the occasion of the entire country organizing many activities to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of General Nguyen Chi Thanh (January 1, 1914 - January 1, 2014) and towards the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army and the 25th anniversary of the National Defense Day (December 22, 2014).

Director - People's Artist Doan Hoang Giang said he was extremely moved when he was invited to stage the play because it was a great honor. He understood the heavy responsibility because building the image of General Nguyen Chi Thanh on stage was very difficult because the General was a historical figure of strategic stature, leaving important marks in the two resistance wars and building the country, close to and loved by the Army and the people. With the time gap not too far, the stories and events in the General's life mentioned in the play required high accuracy, not just legends and fiction.

According to director - People's Artist Doan Hoang Giang, when staging the play, he tried to build the image of General Nguyen Chi Thanh as a resonance of the noble virtues of a Communist, a General of the people, close to the people and for the people; simple and decisive. There was not a single moment of rest in his life, at any difficult time, when the Party, State, Army and people needed him, he was there, in war as well as in peacetime. He was not only a General of action but also a politician with great ideas built and generalized from the realities of life and the battlefield. In any field or task assigned to him, he proposed concise, effective and practical guiding principles, helping the Party, State and Army to make correct decisions with long-term orientation.

The play Bright as a Pearl, a Person opens with a tragic scene of the time when the Tri Thien - Hue front collapsed in the early years of the resistance war against the French colonialists. The enemy intensified the sweep, shooting, and terrorizing of the people in order to push the resistance forces into the mountainous areas. From the depths of grief, the people's confusion and dispersion emerged the image of the Secretary of the Thua Thien - Hue Provincial Party Committee, Nguyen Chi Thanh, a Party leader, a military man with strategic vision, sharp tactical thinking and action, who believed in the hearts and strength of the people in the resistance war to defend the country.

At that time, the Secretary of the Thua Thien - Hue Provincial Party Committee - Nguyen Chi Thanh gathered loyal party members to return to stick with the people, rebuild the revolutionary movement, "find a way to live from death". He understood that the Party and the people are like fish and water, the people are the roots, the source of strength, it is the people who protect and nurture the revolution, being away from the people means death and the enemy only hoped for the same thing when using white terror to separate the people from the Party. The trust he placed in the people was also the love and trust that the people of Thua Thien - Hue had for him, ready to accept all sacrifices to protect the Party in that dark period, with the wish "As long as the Party exists, Nguyen Chi Thanh exists, the resistance will continue".

From the small fires that were rekindled in the hearts of the people, the resistance war to defend the country flared up to create the once-famous Binh Tri Thien. When the movement grew, he himself had to leave his comrades, compatriots and beloved homeland to go to the Viet Bac War Zone under the command of the Central Committee and Uncle Ho, taking on the role of Chief of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army, contributing with our army and people to create a glorious Dien Bien Phu victory. In his new position, General Nguyen Chi Thanh's talent in ideological, political and military work was fully revealed. It was also a talent that had been tempered from the reality of revolutionary activities, from the harshness of war, understanding the people, understanding comrades, teammates and their thoughts to creatively apply in life and combat.

He awakened potentials and gave strength to soldiers. Simple, not boastful, not exaggerated or stereotyped, but very determined to defend the right viewpoint, originating from the thoughts and feelings of soldiers. The organization of art troupes to serve the front was labeled as sentimental by some battlefield commanders. He affirmed that it was the lyrical folk songs of the homeland that gave strength to soldiers to fight, because they were the national soul, the spiritual values, the love for the Fatherland that their ancestors passed down, and they understood that they were fighting so that those folk songs would last forever.

Meritorious Artist Tu Long performed quite successfully, highlighting the image of General Nguyen Chi Thanh, the General of the people, the General of practical action and strategic vision, a vision "taking the people as the root" that has been deeply rooted in the talented strategic minds of the nation for thousands of years. The Binh Tri Thien Front was restored from the hearts of the people, from the protection and shelter of the people. The complete victory of the Dien Bien Phu campaign was also from the strength of the people as one. In the early years of peace and the construction of socialism in the North, as a member of the Politburo and Head of the Central Agricultural Committee, the General returned to the people, shared the hardships with the people of the Central region during storms and floods, understood and believed in the people's strength to revive the production movement with a new spirit, proposed wise and effective instructions to help the locality overcome natural disasters and floods, and built typical models of the northern socialist countryside such as the Dai Phong Cooperative. When the war against the US broke out, at the request of Uncle Ho and the Party Central Committee, he put on his military uniform again, braved the rain of bombs and bullets, crossed the Truong Son mountain range to the South, encouraged and worked with our army and people to research and find the most effective way to fight the enemy equipped with strong firepower according to the motto "stick to the enemy's belt and fight".

The play had lyrical moments, depicting the image of a Party and Army leader in daily life, simple and loyal to family, friends, comrades and people. He represents a generation of previous leaders, selflessly serving the greater good, putting aside personal matters for the sake of the revolutionary mission, for the benefit of the people and the country. For people like him, all lies and profiteering in the name of revolution are unacceptable and he resolutely fights against those who "originate from the people but when they hold power, they turn back to become revolutionary officials, not stopping at any means, even embezzling and bullying the people". Also from penetrating reality, he understands the people's thoughts, understands the degenerate state of a part of the cadres and resolutely handles it to prevent them from relying on their meritorious deeds, harassing, abusing their power and doing wrongful acts and bring back the people's trust.

The play Bright as a Pearl is a beautiful song of a man who devoted his whole life to the country and the people. The narrative nature of the Cheo sections was appropriately utilized, brought into the role of General Nguyen Chi Thanh, especially the part where he crossed the river with folk songs from three regions of the country, both exploiting the talent of the actors and bringing lyricism in the context of fierce war. Although the script and acting sometimes let the Cheo quality be somewhat overwhelmed by the drama quality, the interweaving of central region opera melodies, the leading of the drama story, the transition between stages were still forced, not really smooth, but overall this is a good play of the Army stage.

According to NDDT