Summer Children's Theater 2025: Nurturing Children's Dreams

International Children's Day June 1 has long been considered the "firecracker" that kicks off the vibrant summer performance season of children's theater. However, the summer of 2025 witnessed a lull as there were not many new works.

However, there are still quiet but valuable efforts of public art units to nurture children's souls through the stage - a place to nurture imagination and humanistic values.

Scene from the musical "Sans Famille" by the Youth Theater.

Not much but special

As of the end of May, the number of art programs for children announced by art units in Hanoi is still limited. However, a few outstanding plays have created attraction, not only for young audiences but also for parents who love the stage.

The Youth Theater - a unit that has been persistently pursuing musicals for young people for many years - has just introduced to the public the new play "Sans Famille", adapted from the classic novel by Hector Malot. For more than an hour, young audiences will accompany the boy Remi on his journey of wandering with the traveling circus, and then after many challenges, he finds his true home.

The musical directed by Meritorious Artist Le Anh Tuyet and adapted by screenwriter Bui Hong Que has brought a vibrant and creative performance. The highlight of the play is the music remixed from Western classical material with emotional Vietnamese lyrics. The scenery designed by artist Dang Minh Tuan creates a 19th century European atmosphere with both fairytale and realistic colors, helping young audiences easily access the story.

“Sans Famille” is part of a series of performances for children in the summer of 2025 called “Summer of Love 2025”, an event held annually at the Youth Theater with outstanding,educational and humanistic plays. In addition to “Sans Famille”, other plays such as “The Cat Who Taught the Seagull to Fly”, “The King Without a Throne”, “Elsa’s Dream”, “Zorba the Cat Detective”, “The Goblin’s Child” will continue to come to young audiences within the framework of the event “Summer of Love 2025”.

Although not a new play, "Don't Want to Laugh Even If You Don't Want to" staged by the Vietnam Circus Federation has attracted many young audiences because of its attractiveness in combining folk materials and circus language. The familiar story "Clams, oysters, snails, mussels" is retold through circus, puppetry and electronic music, creating a vivid visual experience.

According to director, People's Artist Tong Toan Thang, for children today, if there is a lack of visual elements and vibrant rhythms, it is very difficult to maintain concentration. Therefore, the combination of many types of theater will help attract young audiences.

Another option for children who love the stage this time is the play “An khế tra vang” by the Vietnam Drama Theater. This is a play that conquered young audiences last summer thanks to its exploitation of familiar fairy tales in a new style: humorous, satirical, and lightly educational. The stage is supported by modern projection technology, leading young audiences to a magical world with a magic khế tree and a giant golden bird. Combining physical acting, fun music, and familiar dialogue, the work becomes easy to receive and still conveys lessons about kindness and fairness without falling into dogma.

Appreciable efforts

In general, the number of plays and drama programs dedicated to children this summer is quite modest. Apart from “No Family”, most of the remaining programs are re-enactments or new creations from old materials. Some socialized units that have done children’s theater this year have not been present. Looking at the excitement of cinemas and entertainment areas for children, it is easy to feel sad about the appeal of theater to the majority in the current context.

The stage has always been affirmed as a place to nurture children's dreams. The stage is not only a place for entertainment but also an effective educational tool. People's Artist Trinh Thuy Mui, President of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association, once emphasized: Stage works for children must contribute to orienting thoughts and actions of truth - goodness - beauty, as well as avoiding bad and evil in the process of forming children's personalities.

However, in the context of the current multifaceted difficulties of the theater, especially the lack of good scripts and funding - and children's theater is no exception - a few plays of such quality are already valuable. This shows the efforts of artists in nurturing children's dreams through the theater.

For example, director, Meritorious Artist Le Anh Tuyet, with a great passion for musical art, especially musicals for children, she has nurtured and created many plays such as "Golden Flower Farm" (Gold Medal at the National Music and Dance Festival 2021), "Flock of Swans", "Then I Will Grow Up", "Bom's Dream" and most recently "No Family". It is a very valuable effort to bring novelty to the children's stage.

In the digital age, the stage still plays a special role in providing children with a vivid, authentic experience - where they are not only entertained but also educated in aesthetics and personality. Although not as popular, the 2025 summer children's stage still quietly nurtures dreams. It is the dream of a generation that loves beauty, feels the truth and lives humanely - starting with a play with their parents.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/san-khau-thieu-nhi-he-2025-uom-mam-nhung-giac-mo-tre-tho-703975.html