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The Gem is known for its fast-paced dialogue, where characters constantly question each other and pressure the audience to think. The plot revolves around the competition to own a "dream home"—but that home is not simply a place to live, but also represents social standing and personal aspirations. In the process of acquiring the home, the characters face fierce competition, internal conflicts, and decisions that harm themselves and others.
The play, written by Thomas Köck and directed by Đào Duy Anh, features the following actors: Nguyễn Tú, Phan Thắng, Bùi Minh, Yến My, Hàn Trang, Thu Hà, Minh Cúc, Hương Thuỷ, Thanh Hoà, Tiến Đạt, and Chí Huy.
The stage design features a large jewel placed in the center and a glass bridge connecting the stage to three rows of audience seats.
The Gem is known for its fast-paced dialogue, where characters constantly question each other and pressure the audience to think. The plot revolves around the competition to own a "dream home"—but that home is not simply a place to live, but also represents social standing and personal aspirations. In the process of acquiring the home, the characters face fierce competition, internal conflicts, and decisions that harm themselves and others.
A giant gem sits at the center, its mirrored surfaces reflecting light and doubling the illusion of aspiration for success.
The fast-paced dialogue, where characters constantly question each other, keeps the audience on track, creating tension from beginning to end. The Youth Theatre team not only delivers the dialogue but transforms it into a visually stunning theatrical experience with impressive visual design, combined with sound, lighting, and innovative staging techniques.
The cameras, positioned on either side of the stage, simultaneously recorded and projected images, creating a doubling effect that was half real, half virtual.
The glittering gem becomes the "target" that every character vies for. Two cameras positioned diagonally on either side of the stage magnify every movement of the characters on screen, transforming them into versions that are both realistic and exaggerated. Every glance, every tilt of the head, or every handshake becomes a new layer of identity, drawing the viewer in with the details while simultaneously confronting the excessive display of ambition.
The bridge, the jewel, and the camera lens are no longer merely props, but combine to form a symbolic system. On one side is the aspiration for glamour, on the other is surveillance and scrutiny. All of this transforms the theatrical space into an arena, where the audience not only observes but is also drawn into the tense flow of the characters.
Many scenes are almost entirely devoid of dialogue, consisting only of silence, light, sound, and physical confrontations – from struggles and shoving to acts of mutual exclusion. There, violence needs no words; movement alone is enough to convey the pressure of the desire for possession.
Many scenes are almost entirely devoid of dialogue, featuring only silence, lighting, and body movements – creating tension and intrigue no less powerful than spoken words.
Sharing her thoughts on the role, Dinh Huong Thuy said that the pressure came not only from portraying the character's psychology, but also from the amount of action she had to perform. "The core of drama is action, and this play has a lot of action, so that's the backbone of the play. To ensure it's interesting and impressive, the main character needs even more outstanding action during the performance," she said.
Artist Huong Thuy plays the lead role in Ngoc Thu.
The climax is built up in The Gem's desperate cry: "This city doesn't belong to you! This road, this sky doesn't belong to you either!" If the wordless passage left the audience breathless, the dialogue forced them into a bitter laugh, as if directly striking the hidden anxieties within the urban environment.
The play reflects pressing issues: soaring housing prices, fierce competition, uncertainty about the future, and illusions of peace. All of this is concentrated within a compact yet intense stage setting, leaving many unanswered questions for the audience.
"Ngọc Thủ" reflects pressing issues: soaring housing prices, fierce competition, and a sense of insecurity about the future... All of this is concentrated in a compact yet intense stage setting, leaving many unanswered questions for the audience.
This is also a significant theatrical collaboration project between Vietnam and Germany, marking the first time a script by a German author has been written specifically for the Vietnamese stage. The play will be performed on September 26, 27, and 28, 2025, at the Youth Theatre in Hanoi, in Vietnamese with English subtitles, for both domestic and international audiences.
