STATE Administration Council Chairman Prime Minister Sen­ior General Min Aung Hlaing attended the premiere of the play titled, “The Prestige No­bler than the Life” which was first performed publicly at the theatre hall of Zeyathiri Beikman yesterday evening.

The play is presented with the objective of preserving My­anmar’s traditional cultural heritage. The casts of the play are the employees from the De­partment of Fine Arts under the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture and artistes.

Also present were Daw Kyu Kyu Hla, wife of the Senior Gen­eral, SAC members and their wives, the SAC Secretary and his wife, the Joint Secretary and his wife, the Union-level personnel and their wives, the Union min­isters and their wives, high-rank­ing officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of De­fence Services and their wives, officers, other ranks and their family members.

The play was performed in conformity with the traditions and practices of Myanmar theatrical culture. The play was opened by paying homage to Lord Buddha as a gesture of maintaining the Buddhist tradition.

The theme of the play is concerned with the downfall of Nat Shin Naung. This play will remind the audience of how Nat Shin Naung lost his life. Nat Shin Naung was a great soldier cum leader. However, as he did not believe that the strength of the nation lies only within, he trod on the wrong path, deciding to rely on a foreign power, which caused his downfall. It is believed that the audience can learn a lesson from the downfall of Nat Shin Naung, the King of Toungoo, who was not only a great soldier but also a poet laureate. Had he not been over-dependent upon the alien Portuguese, he would not have met such a miserable downfall.

Under the guidance of the Head of State, the Fine Arts De­partment of the Ministry of Reli­gious Affairs and Culture is mak­ing efforts to identify the heritage of Myanmar’s traditional cultures and fine arts, preserve them and develop their advancement in or­der to entertain the programmes based on Myanmar’s traditional cultures to the public.

At the end of the play, the SAC Chairman Prime Minister and his wife presented a bouquet and cash awards in honour of performing artistes. Union-lev­el personnel, Union ministers, the Chief of General Staff (Army, Navy and Air), the Command­er-in-Chief (Navy), the Com­mander-in-Chief (Air) and the high-ranking officers from the Commander-in-Chief (Army) Of­fice gave cash awards, respec­tively, before cordially greeting the play performers and artistes.

MNA