Circus play «Giấc Mơ Tuổi Thần Tiên 2026» (A Fairy-Tale Childhood Dream)

   Ninety minutes, a round circus ring, and a five-year-old watching a superhero land a somersault a few metres away rather than on a screen. That is the shape of this weekend outing, and it sits a little under two kilometres south of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, so it is an easy afternoon to build into a Hanoi trip with children.

   The title means «a fairy-tale childhood dream», and the 2026 edition carries the subtitle «Legend of the Superhero Brothers». Two children, Mun and Tom, fall in with a squad of comic-book heroes and fight their way through a war between light and dark. The Vietnam Circus Federation has rebuilt the piece on a completely new script for this run, staged in a more cinematic style and with far more direct interaction with the audience.

   The plot is a thread; the weight is in the circus work itself. On the bill:

• — aerial rope and men's straps
• — teeterboard, bounce net and group tumbling
• — duo roller skating and a human pyramid on a moving bicycle
• — the wheel of death
• — an animal section with horses, dogs, goats and pigs

   Only four performances are scheduled, spread across two consecutive August weekends: two Saturday afternoons and two Sunday mornings. The Saturday slot leaves the evening free, the Sunday one gets you out before lunch — either works around a small child's routine.

   The hall is worth a note in its own right: a purpose-built round arena seating 1,181, opened by the Federation on 16 January, the anniversary of its founding in 1956. The Federation reports to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and in 2026 its performers took three prizes at the Elefant d'Or international circus festival in Girona, Spain, and a Silver Crown at the Princess of the Circus festival in Saratov. The troupe on a Saturday afternoon is the same one that travels to those competitions.

   Seats come in two grades, standard and VIP, differing in how close you sit to the ring; children under 80 cm get in free. Tickets are sold through the theatre's own online platform, with a seating plan to pick from and a QR code delivered to your phone.

   There is no language barrier to plan around: the story is carried by acrobatics, animal acts and characters every child recognises on sight.

   Ticket queries go to [email protected]. Book tickets.

   If you are in Hanoi with children in mid-August, this is the simplest ninety minutes you will spend all week — and you will not have to translate a word of it.