VietNam Life Style: Café

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Falling into the city deeps

A violin and piano performance at Roi Café - Photo: Thanh Hang

The violinist seemed to recognize the little girl at once and smiled faintly at her as she came into the room. A brief moment later, he was lost again in the Ave Maria. The girl of about six or seven sat next to her brother and told him to shush, then made room for her grandfather. Once settled, the family sat in silence to listen to the live classical music which is a regular weekly event at Roi Café.

Roi Café is in a fine house which also has a flower shop. Opening only two hours a night from Wednesday to Sunday night, Roi is purely for music lovers. The way that sonatas for violin and piano are played in the private sitting room resembles how chamber music used to be enjoyed in European salons in the 18th Century. It’s the intimate nature that makes people call chamber music the “music of friends”. In Roi cafe, although its not a string quartet there is an intimacy that is a vital aspect of chamber music.

And it’s not just classical music at Roi. A few instrumental versions of old covers are rolled out. As the musician played the much-loved Russian song “One million roses”, all the visitors at Roi Cafe seemed to fall into reveries. An old man closed his eyes and tapped his fingers gently on the table. In the easy flow of music, the tiny space created an illusion of drowning in the deepest ocean, with all the trees waving in the dark outside.

Roi Café serves drinks for a very reasonable price from VND30,000, compared to other live music café lounge in Saigon. Doors open at 8pm from Wednesday to Sunday and close at 10pm. Roi Café is at 92 Dinh Tien Hoang, Binh Thanh District, HCMC.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Cafés becoming new rendezvous for HCMC drama lovers

Photo: Tuoi Tre

For Ho Chi Minh City coffee shops, serving just food and beverages is almost passé – the latest trend is to offer books, chess boards, and even theatrical performances.

Bet Cafe at 57A Tu Xuong Street, District 3, staged the first play three years ago and now at least five cafes do it though only two of them, Bet and Lit, advertise publicly and have a license.

The actors are usually amateurs or theater arts students who are yet it to make big stage, the owner of Bet Café, Thien Kiem, said.

“It took me a year of preparations and two more for trials to bring a drama stage inside a coffee shop,” she recalled. “I faced innumerable difficulties.”

Many of her friends considered it odd, she said.

The first obstacle was getting a license from the city Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

“My group of young performers and I were patient,” she told Tuoi Tre.

Under the law, all performances and drama scripts must get approval from local authorities before being staged.

Initially, Bet Café staged plays once a week before making it thrice a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Some show draw an audience of up to 100 visitors who enjoy food and drinks alongside the show.

“I like watching plays here as they are very realistic without props, lights, or special effects,” a customer said.

Some plays have become favorites at Bet Café -- Tinh Song Tinh Chet (Love Alive, Love Dead), Doan Tuyet (Breaking), and Sau Mot Con Dong (Aftermath of a Storm).

Kim said the café has a target of staging a new play every month.

At Lit Café, 3/13 Thich Quang Duc Street, Phu Nhuan District, plays are staged every Wednesday and Thursday.

At both places, visitors can also exchange ideas and talk to performers.

Theater cafes are becoming a place for young performers to test their skills while also earning a livelihood.

NNCK is a typical group. Hoang Minh Phi and Nhu Thao set it up out of their love for theater after failing to complete theater school.

VietNam Life Style