French novelist Marc Levy to watch play-adaptation of work in HCMC

His visit follows an invitation from Viet Linh, who directed the play “All Those Things We Never Said”, adapted from his novel of the same name. He will attend the performance at the HCMC Opera House on Monday night.

Two days later, Levy will have a meet and greet with fans at HCMC Book Street in District 1.

Viet Linh, director and screenwriter of various famous films, said during the Covid-19 outbreak last year in France, Linh read a handful of novels, including Levy’s work. She admired his vivid imagination and romance. “All Those Things We Never Said”, a story about fatherhood, strongly moved Linh. She adapted the novel into a play and emailed Levy to acquire the rights for 10 performances of the play.

“When he agreed two weeks later, I was surprised because we are strangers and my name is nothing compared to his. Levy wanted to see the play if his schedule allowed, so I decided to set a convenient date for the play,” Linh said.

For Linh, adapting the novel was a challenge, although her strength is literary drama. To ensure the proper duration, the crew had to cut some of the details and side characters without affecting the storyline and message.

Director Viet Linh (L) in a revision of the play “All Those Things We Never Said”. Photo courtesy of Viet Linh

“The novel is full of historical, detective and scientific elements. To turn more than 400 pages into a 2.5-hour play, we spent a lot of time discussing and editing the manuscript,” Linh said.

The play was directed by Linh and Le Chi Na. The story began when a few days before her wedding, Julia received the news that her father had suddenly passed away. After the funeral, Julia discovered her father had left her a surprise and her unexpected journey began.

Levy was born in 1961 in Paris. After graduating from university, he moved to the U.S. in 1984 and worked in the architectural graphics industry.

He moved back to France in 1991 and began writing. He came into prominence in 1999 with his first novel “If Only It Were True”, which was adapted into a movie. His later works turned him into a worldwide best-selling author. So far, his books have been translated into 49 languages and sold over 40 million copies.

In 2008, he visited Vietnam for the first time to meet fans.