ENTERTAINMENT FOR KIDS: The HCM City-based IDECAF Drama Troupe is launching a new drama programme aimed at children. — Photo courtesy of the theatre

HCM CITY — The HCM City-based private IDECAF Drama Troupe launches a drama programme for children this week. 

The event is called Truyện Thần Tiên (Fairy Tales) and will offer drama and musical shows based on foreign and Vietnamese folk and fairy tales. 

The shows send messages on childhood, friendship, bravery, patriotism and loyalty. 

They are written and directed by the theatre’s talented artists Đình Toàn, Vũ Minh and Bạch Long. 

Highlighted performances combine drama, music and cải lương (reformed opera), a traditional form of Vietnamese theatre which began 100 years ago in the South. 

Beautiful costumes, and light and sound effects are offered to meet the tastes of children.

“Through our programme, Truyện Thần Tiên, we want to provide children with quality shows about the world and people,” said the theatre’s art director Đình Toàn. “We will also highlight the beauty of Vietnamese culture and lifestyle through our art.”

Toàn, who began his career as a comedian and has 20 years of experience as an actor, said HCM City does not have enough shows for young audiences, particularly children. "We have worked under a lot of pressure to produce shows that both kids and their parents can enjoy,” he added.  

Toàn and his actors are working on the first show called Cuộc Phiêu Lưu Của Cậu Bé Búp Bê (The Adventures of Dollie), a musical featuring the challenges that a doll and his friends face during their trip in an old-growth forest, where he really belongs and discovers he wants to be a human.

FUN MIX: Veteran theatre actor Bạch Long and talented artists of IDECAF Drama Troupe offer shows that combine drama, music and cải lương (reformed opera), a traditional form of Vietnamese theatre which began 100 years ago in the South. — Photo courtesy of the theatre

Meritorious Artist Mỹ Duyên and Hồng Ánh play lead roles. 

Traditional theatre actor Bạch Long, a cải lương star, is invited to play a part in the musical. 

Long owns Đồng Âu Bạch Long Troupe, which began in 1992 and reopened last year. His troupe is composed of 20 skilled actors, mostly graduates of leading art schools in the city and neighbouring provinces. 

He has worked with the IDECAF to preserve and keep cải lương alive. 

IDECAF Drama Troupe opened in 1995 and is one of the region’s leading private theatres. It offers many experimental shows in drama, musical, cải lương and hát bội (central drama), a genre of traditional theatre in southern and central regions which began in the 12th century under the Trần Dynasty.  

The theatre’s children shows began on January 6 at 28Đ Lê Thánh Tôn Street, District 1. — VNS