Students from the English linguistics and literature faculty of the HCMC Open University will stage dramas adapted from American literary works in English at the HCMC Drama Theater in downtown HCMC on May 20 and 27.

The play “Forrest Gump” by Winston Groom will take place from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on May 27 at HCMC Drama Theater in downtown HCMC 

“The Danish Girl” by David Ebershoff will be played on Saturday, May 20 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be a free tea break where guests can take photos and chat with actors from 7:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. The Danish Girl tells a story about portrait artist Gerda Wegener who asks her husband, popular landscape artist Einar Wegener, to pose as a female model for her painting she works on. The act of posing unmasks Einar’s lifelong identification as a woman and sets off a struggling journey for this artist.

On May 27, the students will stage two plays, “Forrest Gump” by Winston Groom from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The first play is about the life of Forrest Gump, a slow-developed child compared with other children of the same age. At school, he has difficulty studying math and his language is not grammatically correct. The boy is often teased and bullied. However, he grows up with his own abilities and values of humanity to gain true friendship, love and family affection.

Meanwhile, “Brokeback Mountain” explores the topic about two young adults named Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, who are hired to look after sheep at a seasonal grazing range on the Brokeback Mountain. However, they fall in an unexpected intense emotional and sexual attachment. At the end of the summer, they have to part ways. Their separate lives play out with marriages, children and jobs as socially expected like any other men’s. But they can never forget each other.

Held for the first time in 2009, the drama performance is aimed at developing the love for English-language literary works among students of English major, improving their language skills, creating an interesting activity for students in the school, and promoting the image of the HCMC Open University.

In addition, the organizers expect all the plays based on American literary works would bring wonderful moments to the audience and convey humanitarian values to the community.

The shows are expected to attract some 500 spectators each night at the HCMC Drama Theater, 30 Tran Hung Dao Street, District 1, HCMC.

Previously, the university hosted Oscar Wilde’s Night featuring two plays “The Happy Princess” and “The Nightingale and the Rose” for 500 spectators in November 2012; a Drama Week 2015 from December 24 to 29 featuring 14 dramas from three classes of American literature; and the Theater in Education, English Literature 2016 which attracted around 800 students, teachers, representatives from foreign diplomatic corps and media on June 4-5, 2016.

SGT