Theatre Outreach Co-ordinator,
Footscray Community Arts Centre.

As Theatre Outreach Co-ordinator at Footscray Community Arts Centre, I have had the opportunity to observe the four different productions of Chay Vong Vong written and directed by Tony Le Nguyen. It has been a fascinating journey for Tony and myself to see the work evolve and develop.

I have been extremely impressed with how Tony has been able to adapt the process and the product to the situation and condition he finds himself working in. Tony has an acute awareness of what is required and the ability to choose the right people to support the work he undertakes. It would be a temptation to just remount the same play and make it fit to the new environment but Tony has allowed the project to grow and change.
This makes it quite hard to compare the different productions. They all had different aims and objectives and were with different communities. Instead of evaluating the projects separately, I will highlight some of the common strengths.

Tony is a brilliant networker and through this process manages to find and inspire people within the Vietnamese community. All his projects have received strong community support. He manages to speak to the community across generations. He includes and relates to young people through to the more conservative leaders of the Vietnamese community.

Related to this strength Tony has also received strong support from the media and this has been important in raising the profile of the community and presenting positive images of the Vietnamese Community. This support reflects Tony’s basic commitment to his community. This has been a powerful motivator behind his work in theatre.

Tony has also brought to the different productions knowledge of Western theatre and Vietnamese traditions. The bilingual scripts reflect a fascinating combination of cultures which allows both English-speaking and Vietnamese-speaking audiences to understand and enjoy the performances. This blending of cultures has meant the audiences have included large numbers from the Vietnamese community as well as the wider community who are interested in performance that challenges the conventions and aesthetics of white middle-class Western theatre.

It has been a privilege to be involved with and observe the development of “Chay Vong Vong” and Tony’s career. The work still has the potential to further develop in many directions. Tony’s ability to work with a community as well as push the boundaries of the art form means he is ready to take on many new projects and ventures.