Children's theater overcomes difficulties

The market is booming.

During the recent Lunar New Year 2025, the 5B Small Stage Theatre staged " The Magic Pen ," an adaptation of a familiar folk tale. This children's play featured a cast including People's Artist My Uyen, Huynh Nhu, Huynh Ngan, Hong Dao, Ky Thien Canh, and others. Besides incorporating a message into the work, the theatre also focused on creating effects through interaction with young audiences, adapting traditional folk songs and operatic styles to delight viewers. Prior to this, People's Artist My Uyen and her colleagues had already made a good impression with plays such as "Animal Rescue Station" and "Riot in the Dragon Palace ."

The family-friendly musical "Tet Oi Tet A" was premiered during the recent Tet holiday.

Photo: Ban Mai Stage

While Idecaf's "Once Upon a Time" previously dominated the children's theater market, in recent years, other theaters have also focused on young audiences. A prime example is the summer of 2024, when Truong Hung Minh Art Theater presented "Me Coc's Adventures," featuring a cast including Meritorious Artist Minh Nhi, Viet Huong, Hua Minh Dat, and Quynh Lam… Artist Viet Huong revealed that this grand production received a 1 billion VND investment and boasted the largest number of costumes compared to other productions at the theater. Since its premiere, "Me Coc's Adventures" has received positive reviews from audiences, consistently selling out during the summer, demonstrating the appeal of children's theater if properly and meticulously produced.

Over the past year, our theater has tried many different approaches, constantly changing its format to cater to audience tastes. We only have 90 minutes to help children put down their phones and immerse themselves in the play. This requires the actors to work their hardest.

Bao Chu (director of plays at Ban Mai Theatre)

A positive sign for the children's theater market is the emergence of Ban Mai Theater, with the collaboration of renowned actors such as Phi Phụng, People's Artist Trịnh Kim Chi, Phương Dung, Phương Bình… With the motto of nurturing children's imagination and dreams, the theater aims to bring theatrical works drawing material from Vietnamese culture, art, and history. Ban Mai Theater has presented many plays, including Rago - The First Journey, Colora - The Land of Brilliance, and Tet, Oh Tet! (premiering during the Lunar New Year 2025).

Meanwhile, the Hong Hac stage also made its mark with the play "My Little Angel" - an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Nguyen Nhat Anh, premiered in the summer of 2024. Artist Quoc Thao and his students left a lasting impression on young audiences with the play "Colorful Island - The Survival Challenge".

Having once dominated the children's theater market, the emergence of other theaters producing children's plays hasn't diminished the appeal of Idecaf's "Once Upon a Time." Proof of this is the fact that tickets for new productions are always sold out. Many people even go to great lengths to find tickets on the black market for a chance to see "The Adventures of Captain Sinbad: The Legend of the All-Seeing Eye."

Artist Dinh Toan once shared in a program that "Once Upon a Time" maintains its appeal to older audiences not only because of the fond memories it evokes but also because of its constant innovation and creativity. "We have to write new scripts that are more engaging, more substantial, and have more plot twists," he said.

The Adventures of Rice Grains

Photo: Truong Hung Minh Art Stage

Efforts to overcome challenges

The current production of children's plays presents a great opportunity for theaters. With limited recreational spaces for children and parents concerned about their children becoming addicted to technology, plays offer a platform for young audiences to interact directly, express their opinions, and engage with the situations depicted in the works. However, attracting young audiences to theaters remains a complex challenge, requiring significant effort from theaters.

Understanding this, the plays, in addition to investing in costumes, sound, and incorporating messages, also focus on creating interaction with young audiences. Artist Quoc Thao said that at the theater, he and his students also organize entertainment activities to attract viewers. "If we only think about profit and loss, it would be difficult to create children's plays. This type of work is only performed seasonally, while the investment costs are high. But this is an opportunity for the actors to connect with children and learn many lessons about acting, especially the skill of interacting with the audience," artist Quoc Thao said.

Discussing the difficulties, artist Quoc Thao also acknowledged that plays for children require an attractive format. This poses a challenge for the theater in terms of investing in costumes, scenery, sound, lighting, etc. He added: "If we invest carelessly, the children will feel bored, it won't be appealing to them, and it will be counterproductive."

As the director of plays at the Ban Mai theater, Bao Chu said one of the "challenges" for the theater is creating a work that serves young children but doesn't bore parents. According to the director, finding a balance is not simple. "Over the past year, our theater has tried many approaches, changing many forms to capture the audience's tastes. We only have 90 minutes to help children put down their phones and immerse themselves in the play. That requires the actors to work their hardest. Children's plays require action in everything, so it takes a lot of energy," he said.

Compared to other theaters, director Bao Chu said that the Ban Mai theater currently still has to rent a venue. Therefore, he is still dependent on the theater space to stage plays appropriately. Above all, the director believes that the script is the key element.

"We need to incorporate educational elements into our works to provide lessons and experiences for young children. In 2025, we will begin a new direction by staging historical plays, hoping to get closer to children through our connection with schools," Bao Chu shared.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/kich-thieu-nhi-vuot-kho-185250211221454911.htm