Summer children's drama, thought to be a success but too many people turned into difficulties

The play Colora - The Land of Brilliant Colors by Ban Mai Children's Theatre - Photo: LINH DOAN

It's been a long time since the city's theater community had the opportunity in the summer to perform 7 or 8 circus and children's plays at the same time to serve young audiences.

Many children's plays, quality improved

Many years ago, every summer, people would easily read articles complaining about the lack of children's theater, with only Idecaf Theater alone with Once Upon a Time.

Surprisingly, this summer, the children's stage became bustling. Not only drama but also reformed opera, circus, water puppetry...

Maintaining its "brand" is still Idecaf Drama Theater with Once Upon a Time 35, the play The Adventures of Captain Sinbad: The Legend of the Magic Eye performed at Ben Thanh Theater.

A new "rival" that debuted last year but is also very respectable is Truong Hung Minh Stage with Fairy Tale 2, the play Me Coc Adventures .

This summer, the young Ban Mai Children's Theatre will premiere its second play, Colora - The Land of Radiance .

After a long time of persisting with children's plays, 5B Drama Theater now presents the play Animal Rescue Station . Quoc Thao Theater has the play Colorful Island and the Survival Challenge.

Young audiences happily go on stage to watch the magic show in the play Animal Rescue Station at 5B Drama Theater - Photo: LINH DOAN

Hong Hac Stage remade My Little Angel with a new crew. Phuong Nam Arts Theater had the circus play Au O and the water puppet show Hoa Dat Viet .

Not only that, this year, Sen Viet Stage, directed by Le Nguyen Dat, also joined the race with the Southern folk musical The Flag Embroidered with 6 Golden Words .

Although the number of children's books has increased dramatically, it is fortunate that more than half of them are well invested and of recognized quality.

The stages seem to have been "tempered" so they gradually progress and know how to master staging and performing children's plays.

Many small meaningful lessons are included. The plots are handled appropriately to balance the play’s rhythm. Costumes, scenery, techniques, effects… are invested in to create a sparkling, eye-catching, and attractive look for children’s plays.

The best part is that the number of silly and vulgar jokes has been greatly reduced. Stages also pay attention to the length of the show, limiting the actors' joking around, making the play drag on and drag on.

Too many plays, the audience is scattered

If last year people were "shocked" when Idecaf and Truong Hung Minh could perform from summer until September and reach over 60 shows, then this summer that record will be difficult to repeat.

Many producers were shocked and even "devastated" when the audience number decreased.

Mr. Tram Thanh Thao, ticket sales manager at Idecaf Drama Theater, said that by the end of June, Once Upon a Time had performed 34 times.

According to the plan, there will be 8 shows in July. After that, the theater will have to see the situation to decide the shows for August. And maybe the play will close in August and not last through September.

Mr. Thao said: "The number of audiences this year decreased compared to last year, especially the Sunday night show was very weak, only about 400-500 tickets."

Artist Viet Huong said that the number of audiences coming to the Adventures of Mexico has decreased compared to last year. The play has now performed 20 times, and in July and August, she is busy with film projects so it is difficult to schedule many performances. Therefore, the play may not be as successful as the Fairy Tale last year with 60 performances.

Director Bao Chu of Ban Mai Theater said that the theater's new play is currently only at 50% capacity per show.

Producer My Uyen is also sad about the decrease in audience. She thinks that there are only so many theater audiences, so when there are many children's plays, the audience will inevitably disperse.

Not only that, many producers believe that the economy has not yet fully recovered, so ticket buyers are very cautious.

The proliferation of children's plays has resulted in actors running around in all directions, making it very difficult to make children's plays nowadays.

Given the tense situation this year, professionals predict that next year many producers will have to calculate and consider carefully when making children's plays.

However, there are people who seem persistent and believe that we should not rely on old audiences, but should boldly and persistently build and find new audiences for children's plays.

The Adventures of Captain Sinbad: The Legend of the Magic Eye by Idecaf Drama Theatre - Photo: LINH DOAN

Idecaf representative said that only two years after the pandemic, Once Upon a Time was a big hit with 55 and 62 shows. With the normal program, including the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are only about 30-32 shows. If it reaches about 42 shows, it is considered a win.

"Of the 35 Once Upon a Time shows, only about 10-12 actually won, so with this situation, we are worried but not insecure. Next year, we will still invest heavily to maintain the quality that has been loved by young audiences," said a theater representative.

Artist My Uyen said that up to now, none of her children's plays have recovered their capital. "It would be a pity to abandon them, but it would be a sin to keep them. But we are trying to build a familiar performance venue, creating a habit for the audience to come and watch children's plays every week" - My Uyen confided.

Viet Huong's play cost billions of dong, but she said she was lucky because she had a business to support. With 20 performances, the play could recoup its investment, and with more performances, it would make a profit, so she still had the motivation to continue the children's play.

Director Bao Chu said that when doing the children's stage play, the crew had determined that they would have to make up for the losses for a period of time. Therefore, they remained calm and still planned to make 4 plays a year.

In addition, the stages also actively coordinate with schools to perform contracts and conduct workshops. The income is not too large but is enough for the stages to survive and extend the performances.

Making children's plays has never seemed easy…

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/kich-thieu-nhi-he-tuong-thang-nhung-dong-qua-hoa-kho-khan-2024062115523892.htm