Algerian playwright stages play on Vietnam in Hanoi

"L'Homme aux sandales de caoutchouc" (The Man in Rubber Sandals), a play on Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh that was written in 1970 by the renowned Algerian writer Kateb Yacine, was introduced for the first time at the Hanoi Opera House on April 24.

Yacine (1929-89) was one of the most popular writers in Algeria. He was a novelist, poet, and playwright. In 1967, he came to Vietnam and greatly admired the Vietnamese struggle against the Americans.

Completed in 1970, the play is a master poetic work of more than 300 pages, with eight acts, around 150 characters, and 1,800 lines of dialogue featuring the historical process of Vietnam from the Hai Ba Trung Uprising (between 40-43 AD) to the death of President Ho Chi Minh in 1969.

The play follows Vietnam's journey from the Hai Ba Trung uprising against the Chinese Han domination nearly two centuries ago to the death of President Ho Chi Minh in 1969.

Although 'The Man in Rubber Sandals' has previously been performed in Algeria and France, it has never before graced the stages of Vietnam. This momentous occasion marks a significant milestone as Yacine's work finally reaches the country that inspired it.

Veteran artists, including Trinh Mai Nguyen, Hoang Lam Tung, and Khuat Quynh Hoa, will perform the drama. while Le Quang Dao and Nguyen Minh Hai play President Ho Chi Minh in different stages of his life.

 
The script of the play 'The Man in Rubber Sandals' with 304 pages, 1800 lines of dialogue, and hundreds of characters, was edited and shorted by Le Manh Hung, PhD in Art, who is also one of the play's directors.

The play is appreciated as not only a work to focus on President Ho Chi Minh but also an epic depicting the Vietnamese country and people through historical periods.

The production is part of a series celebrating the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Algeria (1962-2022).