READING THEATRE #29 - “THIRD-RATE ACTOR”

7:30PM, Tuesday, 16/06/2026
La Rotonde Saigon (185B Trần Hưng Đạo, Cầu Ông Lãnh Ward, HCMC)
Please contact hotline 0938 776 389 (Ms. An Khánh) to reserve tickets.

Inspired by the short story of the same name by writer Lý Lan, the reading theatre piece “Third-Rate Actor” begins backstage at a small theater - where Đạt, a stagehand, constantly wonders why a stylish stranger keeps buying tickets night after night. On the fourth evening, the audience member asks Đạt to deliver a bouquet and an invitation card to supporting actress Mỹ Duyên, sparking the jealousy of the lead actress.

As it turns out, the man is Philip - a French Vietnamese expatriate whose elderly father, drifting between lucidity and confusion, wishes to close his eyes in his homeland. Unable to stay by his side because of work, Philip hires Mỹ Duyên to play the role of his sister living in Australia so that his father will have someone to care for him. Desperate for money to pay for her elder sister’s medical treatment, Mỹ Duyên reluctantly accepts the role in real life.

Yet the seemingly simple father-child play soon begins to unravel. Each character is forced to confront tragedies they have long concealed. Mỹ Duyên, orphaned at a young age, uses the stage as a place where she can call out “mother” and mourn the incompleteness of her own life. Meanwhile, Mr. Tư - the ailing father - pretends to be only half-aware in order to return to his hometown and seek forgiveness for mistakes from his past. Each person quietly carries their own role until they can no longer continue acting.

“The children put on an act to make you happy, while you put on an act so the children can be at peace. Every age comes with a role to play, but the role of an old person is far more painful and difficult…”

Unlike conventional theater, reading theatre relies only on voices, breaths, sobs, and laughter to guide listeners into the story... In the intimate setting of La Rotonde Saigon, actors Đinh Mạnh Phúc, Thùy Dương, Ngọc San, Quốc Long, Bảo Kun, and Lê Chi Na will invite audiences to experience the story through their own imagined stage.

READING THEATRE #29 - “THIRD-RATE ACTOR”
(Adapted from the short story of the same name by Lý Lan)

• Playwright: Việt Linh
• Director: Lê Chi Na
• Music: Vũ Phúc Ân
• Cast: Đinh Mạnh Phúc, Thùy Dương, Ngọc San, Quốc Long, Bảo Kun, Lê Chi Na
• Ticket price: 150,000 VND