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"The Mysterious Land"—a name that immediately sparks curiosity and a desire for exploration—and indeed, the circus performance of the same name, presented by the Southern Arts Theatre just before the Lunar New Year of 2025, created a sensation in the entertainment industry. Not only did it sell out all performances early, but "The Mysterious Land" also dominated social media, becoming a trending keyword with countless reviews, comments, and shares. What contributed to this unexpected success of this theatrical production?
Circus, but not just circus.
When it comes to circus performances, many Vietnamese audiences often picture familiar images such as mischievous clowns, skillful juggling and acrobatics, or daring tightrope acts. These are performances that have been intertwined with the childhood memories of many generations, watched repeatedly for decades.
The circus show "Mysterious Land" is becoming the highlight of the Vietnamese circus scene, attracting large audiences at the Gia Dinh Park Circus Theater.
However, in the context of modern society, audiences' demands for artistic enjoyment are increasingly high. They not only want to see purely technical performances but also yearn to enjoy works of art with profound content and novel, unique forms.
Some domestic circus performances have begun to focus more on building a cohesive storyline to connect existing technical acts into a thematic program. This is a commendable step forward, but there are still many limitations. Connecting disparate acts into a story is sometimes merely superficial, failing to create a strong connection between content and performance style. The story is often simple, predictable, and lacks the appeal and appeal to captivate the audience.
With its dramatic performances, stunning stage effects, and poignant emotions, "The Mysterious Land" promises to change audiences' perspectives on Vietnamese circus.
"The Mysterious Land" is not simply a circus show with skillful technical performances, but also a unique work of art, harmoniously combining circus, drama, and music. The biggest difference of this performance lies in its tightly woven, literary script, along with a captivating storyline that enthralls the audience from the very first minutes.
Inspired by a drought-stricken land, "The Mysterious Land" tells the story of the people's journey to find the "Drum that Calls to Heaven" to pray for rain. To obtain the magical drum, they must collect five elemental stones: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, each stone containing its own power and story.
The circus performance revolves around the adventures of the main characters as they search for five elemental stones to bring rain and save their land.
From there, the audience is led on five unexpected journeys, exploring mysterious lands, meeting unique characters, and overcoming challenging obstacles. The story is not only entertaining but also contains meaningful messages about friendship, courage, solidarity, and environmental awareness.
"The Mysterious Land" goes beyond simply telling a story; it uses the language of circus arts to depict events and plot developments. Circus artists not only perform technical acts but also embody the characters, expressing their personalities and emotions through body language, facial expressions, and characteristic circus movements.
To date, the circus has quickly become a social media sensation and attracted a large audience, ranging from children to adults.
The creative storytelling makes "The Mysterious Land" more engaging, understandable, and relatable to the audience. Viewers not only get to admire the beautiful performances but also "live" alongside the characters, feeling the messages the play aims to convey.
Developed from the work "Mystery on a Desert Island," Meritorious Artist Le Dien said that "The Mysterious Land" was fortunate to receive attention and investment of up to 1.5 billion VND from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports. From there, the Southern Arts Theatre was determined to create a spectacular performance with a unique combination of eye-catching scenery, vibrant sound, 3D lighting technology… demonstrating the effort to "transform" circus art to keep up with modern trends and meet the increasingly demanding requirements of audiences when enjoying art.
The circus show "Mysterious Land" is a highly creative work of art, transforming an entertainment program into a thrilling, fantastical adventure experience.
The performances are a testament to the masterful circus skills of the Southern Arts Theatre's performers. Over 20 performers act throughout the show with high intensity and demanding requirements. Each performer must take on multiple roles, appearing continuously and showcasing a variety of difficult skills. This is an enormous challenge for the performers, but it is a common trend in the world of circus arts. Each performer not only performs a few individual specialty techniques but must also be able to perform diverse forms according to the script's requirements.
They had to use these stones to perform rain-making rituals, hoping to bring life back to their land.
The Southern Arts Theatre boasts a young, energetic, and highly skilled cast, providing the creative team with opportunities to experiment with impressive techniques. Director Nguyen Quoc Cong, a seasoned circus artist, has maximized the abilities of each performer to create a collective strength, like a "football team" with both talented players and a tactical coaching staff.
The audience watched for two hours, captivated by the difficult, complex, and challenging performances, and continuously applauded in admiration.
"The beauty of the circus"
The allure of "Mysterious Land" stems not only from its unique content and performance style, but also from the breathtaking beauty it offers. Transcending preconceptions about traditional circus, "Mysterious Land" amazes audiences with its unexpected and exquisite beauty in every moment.
The performance shattered previous preconceptions among audiences about Vietnamese circus.
Those fortunate enough to enjoy "The Mysterious Land" from its opening performances were amazed by the show's beauty. They shared images and videos capturing impressive moments on social media, creating a sensation online. Comments like "Wow, that's so beautiful!", "Is this show in Vietnam?" appeared more and more frequently, reflecting the audience's curiosity and surprise at such a visually stunning and impressive circus performance.
From giant, colorful puppet models to state-of-the-art laser props that can spark on impact, everything is used creatively and effectively to create surprising and visually stunning effects.
It is precisely because of its incredibly captivating and dramatic storyline that "The Mysterious Land" attracts so many people to come and experience it.
Beyond just scenery and props, "The Mysterious Land" also impresses audiences with its unique and striking stage effects. Fire and dust falling from above, a stage submerged in water during the Water act... are prime examples of the production team's relentless creativity. These special effects not only enhance the appeal of the circus acts but also create a multi-dimensional, vibrant artistic space that keeps audiences captivated.
Efforts to bring Vietnamese art closer to audiences of all ages.
One of the key elements that makes "The Mysterious Land" so appealing is its element of surprise and unpredictability. Audiences can't know what will appear on stage beforehand, from skillful technical performances to special effects; everything is kept secret until the very last minute.
Vietnamese circus is getting closer to audiences again thanks to high-quality, meticulously produced performances.
"The Mysterious Land" is not just a circus show, but also a visually stunning feast where audiences can admire beautiful performances, impressive effects, and delightful surprises. The show has broken the boundaries of traditional circus, offering audiences a unique, novel, and emotionally rich artistic experience.
Audiences have high expectations for future performances.
This work proves that Vietnamese circus is fully capable of creating high-quality, visually stunning artistic performances that meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of audiences. Hopefully, the success of "The Mysterious Land" will inspire the creation of even more unique and impressive circus productions, contributing to elevating the status of Vietnamese circus on the international stage.
