Notwithstanding the pressures of commercialisation, a number of directors and playwrights have continued to try to develop their creativity, writing and staging works which appeal to more than just the lowest common denominator. In Hồ Chí Minh City such activity has continued to focus on Small Stage Drama Theatre (Nhà hát Kịch Sân khấu Nhỏ), which in 2001 opened a second, more commercially-orientated stage at the Phú Nhuận District Cultural Centre with a view to generating income and freeing up its main stage for more serious work. A similar principal governs the programming of the Institut d’échange culturel avec la France (IDECAF) Mini Stage (Sân khấu Kịch IDECAF), with its second stage at District 1's Trần Cao Vân Street. Meanwhile spoken drama is alive and well in the capital, where the state-run Việt Nam Drama Theatre (Nhá hát Kịch Việt Nam) and the municipal Hà Nội Drama Theatre (Nhá hát Kịch Hà Nội) both draw large audiences to their weekly repertory productions and the Youth Theatre (Nhà hát Tuổi trẻ) offers a regular programme of plays aimed at young audiences.

However, a wave of talented younger playwrights has also come to the fore since the early 1990s. Those from the north whose work is currently attracting interest include Lê Quý Hiền (b 1953, Hão, 'Vision' and Vòng tay cuộc đời, 'Embrace of Life'), Phùng Dũng (b 1954, Người sót lại ở rừng cười, 'Left Behind in the Laughing Forest' and Thung lũng xanh, 'Green Valley') and Đặng Trần Trung (b 1958, Đi ngược dòng đời, 'Going against the Current of Life' and Không giết được tình yêu, 'Love Can't be Killed').

Central Việt Nam has also produced a number of award-winning young playwrights in recent years, including Xuân Đức (b 1947, Ám ảnh, 'Obsessed', Người mất tích, 'A Missing Man', Cái chết chẳng dễ dàng gì, 'Death is Not Easy'), Nguyễn Quang Lập (b 1956, Mùa hạ cay đắng, 'Bitter Summer', Ngôi nhà quỉ ám, 'A Devil-Obsessed House'), Xuân Yến (b 1950, Chu Văn An, Hồ Quý Ly, Thằng ngố đòi nợ Phật, 'The Foolish ask Buddha to pay Debts') and Lê Chí Trung (b 1956, Tình muộn, 'Late Love', Tiếng giầy đêm, 'Sound of Footsteps at Night').

Meanwhile at the forefront of contemporary playwriting in the south are Nguyễn Thị Minh Ngọc (Giấc mộng kê vàng, 'Life is like a Short Dream', Đứng giữa đồi cao, 'Standing Atop the High Hill', Một nữa của tôi đâu, 'Where is my Better Half', Nằm ngoài sự thật, 'Beyond the Truth', Khói hương, 'Joss-stick Smoke'), Lê Duy Hạnh (Sáng mãi niềm tin, 'Bright Hope for the Future', Dốc sương mù, 'Misty Slope', Chuyện lạ, 'Strange Story', Diễn kịch một mình, 'Performing Plays by Oneself') and Thanh Hoàng (Giấc mơ người tù, 'Prisoner's Dream', Chuyện trong đêm, 'Night Story', Dạ cổ hoài lang, 'She yearns for her Husband upon Hearing the Sound of the Midnight Drum').

No overview of the contemporary Vietnamese theatre scene would be complete without reference to the ground-breaking figurative performances created by composer Kim Ngọc (Trần Thị Kim Ngọc, b 1975), which promise an exciting new vision for Vietnamese contemporary theatre.