nguyên (âm) đơn
08 pm – 10 pm, 18, 19 & 20 July 2025
Manzi Exhibition Space
No. 2 ngõ Hàng Bún, Ba Đình, Hà Nội
Registration link for 1st night, 2nd night and 3rd night
From the organizer:
Nguyên (âm) đơn: The phrase may be literally translated as “monophthong vowels” in English. Yet each word carries its own nuanced meanings:
* Nguyên—pure, intact, original
** (Âm)—yin, the feminine force in Chinese philosophy, associated with darkness, passivity, and depth
** Đơn—single, solitary, unaccompanied
Together, they evoke layered sonic and symbolic resonances—not only something whole yet unresolved, reverberating with sound and silence, fullness and absence—but also the solitary, shadowed presence of the feminine within both traditional narratives and contemporary theatrical space.
“I’m sending this role back to the stage
I’m an actress
I’m here. But now I have to depart.”
Set on a stage like a labyrinth of memories, the ACTOR steps forward—only to be drawn into a surreal journey where roles from the past return, demanding to be re-lived, embodied, and spoken aloud.
Along the way, she unintentionally summons a character who has never been properly named, rises from an unfinished manuscript in search of someone to re-perform her, and exposes a lost reality.
Nguyên (âm) đơn starts with a lullaby but fails to conclude in a dream. It is a memory journey in which illusion and truth clash, shattering everything we have ever believed, learned, or accepted.
If you are the witness, what would you choose to believe?
And what if your belief is incorrect?
Duration: 120 mins
Language: Vietnamese only
Artist contribution: 350,000 đ/each
+ 300,000 đ applied for students & early bird registrations before 08 July 2025
Group discount: 250,000 đ per person (for groups of 5 and more)
For any inquiries, please message via Manzi’s page or call 0984 951 706 (Phương Thùy)
New Backstage (2024 – 2025) is a non-profit initiative curated by XplusX Studio, supported by the Goethe Institut Hanoi and Manzi Art Space. The project aims to promote new voices in contemporary performing arts and theatre in Vietnam. All audience contributions will assist in covering organizing costs and supporting the artists.
Follow updates on event’s page.
