Children's theater contributes to "nurturing" the souls of young children.

VHO - As summer arrives, the "artistic sanctuary" for children once again bursts with lights, becoming a space for nurturing innocent souls. However, in the digital age with the explosion of social media, the question arises: how can children's theater not only exist as a "seasonal" activity, but also be strong enough to accompany Vietnamese children and families in the long term?

Văn Hoá had a discussion with the Director of the Vietnam Youth Theatre, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Si Tien, to hear his thoughts on this issue.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Si Tien, Director of the Vietnam Youth Theatre

PV : Every summer, children's theater becomes a special gathering place for many families and young audiences. From your perspective, what is the picture of children's theater this summer? How is 2026 moving forward?

- Meritorious Artist Nguyen Si Tien : I believe that the children's theater scene in the summer of 2026 is showing many positive signs as art organizations are increasingly focusing on investing in content, presentation, and experiences for young audiences.

At the Vietnam Youth Theatre, we believe that children's theatre is not just a "seasonal" activity, but a space that nurtures children's emotions and imagination. Therefore, the theatre has invested seriously in everything from scripts, music , and stage design to communication and audience experience organization.

This summer, the theater is presenting a variety of works such as: "Without a Family ," "Pinocchio," "Cinderella and the Glass Slipper ," etc., alongside plays for family and youth audiences such as "Southern Military District ."

In particular, the theater is currently staging the play " A Fierce Childhood" by writer Phung Quan, scheduled to premiere in August 2026, with the aim of conveying the message that although war is long over, the aspiration for a beautiful life, a sense of responsibility to the community, love for one's homeland, and civic consciousness remain values ​​that need to be preserved and spread through generations.

However, children's theater still faces many challenges today. Children nowadays grow up in a digital environment, accustomed to receiving images at a rapid, continuous, and highly visual pace. If theater continues to maintain old storytelling styles, slow rhythms, and a lack of creativity in imagery and experience, it will be very difficult to compete and retain young audiences.

Nevertheless, I believe that it is precisely in this context that the stage has an even greater opportunity to assert its unique value: genuine emotions, direct interaction, and experiences that no digital platform can replace.

The Vietnam Youth Theatre continuously presents many engaging works for young audiences.

Given that children are increasingly drawn to social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, YouTube , and games, how, in your opinion, should the stage change to both retain their attention and focus? Is it suitable for young audiences?

In my opinion, the most important thing is that the stage should not view technology or digital platforms as "rivals," but rather as a part of modern life. At the same time, the stage must still retain its core value that social media lacks, which is the ability to create direct empathy between actors and the audience.

When a child sits in a theater, watching a character cry, laugh, make mistakes, and grow up right on stage, the emotions are very different from watching a few dozen seconds of video on a phone.

Currently, the theater places greater emphasis on modern storytelling, enhancing visual appeal, music, and interactive elements to create a sense of closeness with children. For example, in children's musicals, the theater invests heavily in music, choreography, lighting design, LED screens, stage effects, etc., to create a more emotionally and visually rich experience.

Furthermore, the theater is also interested in promoting and reaching audiences through digital platforms. A performance cannot simply "live" on stage; it needs to be disseminated through trailers, images, behind-the-scenes footage, social media interactions, etc., to create a connection with young audiences.

The role of the stage today is not just to entertain, but also to help children learn how to feel, communicate, and share emotions.

The stage is a place where life values ​​are recreated through dialogue and body language, helping young audiences recognize different emotional states in human communication. These are very important lessons for the formation of children's personalities.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Si Tien

What criteria does the Vietnam Youth Theatre set when choosing themes for children's theatre in the current context?

- The theater sets three important criteria: humanistic values, artistic merit, and the ability to connect with children today.

A children's play should not only be visually appealing or engaging, but more importantly, it must sow beautiful "seeds" in the hearts of young children: compassion, honesty, responsibility, the ability to love, and the capacity to share with others.

Nowadays, children grow up in an environment with an overwhelming amount of information, and they are also very intelligent, disliking being dictated to or taught in a rigid, direct way. Therefore, children's theater needs to tell stories that are relatable and sincere, allowing children to feel and draw their own lessons from the characters' journeys.

For the theater, the most important thing is to help children retain their ability to be moved by life. When a child knows how to be sensitive to beauty, to love, and to empathize with the joys or sorrows of others, that is a very valuable foundation for shaping their character and nurturing their souls.

The play "Pinocchio" promises to deliver many meaningful messages to young audiences about honesty, love, and the journey of growing up.

At the Vietnam Youth Theatre , audiences often encounter classic works of world literature or Vietnamese stories that they are already familiar with . So How has the theater managed to blend those original values ​​with the spirit of the times, becoming vivid and relatable lessons for the hearts of Vietnamese children ?

- This is a difficult but also very interesting challenge for those working in children's theater. I believe that when adapting a classic work, the most important thing is to preserve the "spirit" of the original, not to simply transfer the entire story to the stage. Each era has a different way of receiving information, so performing arts also need a new language that is appropriate and resonates with the thinking of contemporary audiences.

For example, stories like Pinocchio or Without a Family have existed for hundreds of years, but their core values ​​of love, honesty, the desire for growth, and the sacred meaning of family remain just as relevant. The challenge is how to retell them in a way that makes children feel like it's their own story, not a foreign lesson from the past.

The theater consistently pursues a philosophy of retelling old stories in a new way. The stage doesn't approach the work mechanically or by rigidly copying each page of the book, but rather "illuminates" the story with the most authentic emotions of youth. These include innocence, strong friendships, courage in facing challenges, and the losses and traumas that children experience on their journey to growing up.

During the production process, the theater deliberately minimized the dry "preachy" elements or imposing admonitions. Instead, the team focused on creating relatable, dramatic situations that resonated with the complex psychology of modern children.

The characters are also more multifaceted: they are not perfect, they make mistakes, they stumble, but it is the journey of picking themselves up and correcting their mistakes that creates a compelling experience for young children.

According to him, what measures are needed for Vietnamese children's theater to develop sustainably and attract young audiences in the long term ?

- For children's theater to become a sustainable development ecosystem, we need a synchronized strategy, from creative thinking to operational mechanisms.

First, we need to improve the quality of artwork and abandon the "do it for the sake of doing it" or seasonal thinking . Today's children are "digital citizens" with rich cultural backgrounds and highly sensitive worldviews; they absolutely deserve to enjoy high-quality works of art. Each piece needs serious investment to be competitive with the new generation of audiovisual entertainment.

Secondly, it is necessary to shape and cultivate a habit of appreciating art in children from a young age. This requires close coordination among management levels, the education sector, schools, families, and art organizations.

At the Vietnam Youth Theatre, we have consistently maintained a regular performance schedule on weekend evenings and Sunday afternoons for many years. This is an effort to create a family-friendly cultural space where parents can accompany their children in creating beautiful childhood memories through contemporary art.

Thirdly, we need to create specific mechanisms to attract and retain young creative talent. Creating and performing for children requires artists to possess both sharp artistic thinking and a deep understanding of child psychology. Therefore, special incentive policies, independent funding for artistic initiatives, and professional awards specifically for children's theater are essential. Only then will they feel secure enough to dedicate themselves to creativity and contribution.

Finally, diversify the value chain of theatrical products through interdisciplinary integration. In the creative economy, children's theater is not simply a performance confined to a stage, but needs to proactively connect with school education, experiential tourism, multimedia communication, and community interaction activities.

This is also the direction of the Vietnam Youth Theatre - a national theatre with the mission of serving young audiences. At the same time, it demonstrates the theatre's determination to realize and adhere to the goals of Resolution No. 80-NQ/TW of the Politburo on the Development of Vietnamese Culture in the coming period.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/nghe-thuat/san-khau-thieu-nhi-gop-phan-boi-dap-tam-hon-tre-tho-232609.html