Children's musical «Ngày Xửa Ngày Xưa 37: Học Viện Phép Thuật» (The Magic Academy)

   Every summer, Saigon waits for the return of its best-loved family stage — the kind of show where the grown-ups laugh as hard as the kids, and a fairy tale turns into a quiet lesson about courage and friendship. The hall fills with families who have been coming for generations.

   In brief:
— written by Quang Thao (Quang Thảo), directed by Dinh Toan (Đình Toàn)
— a musical fantasy set in a school of magic
— a large cast of IDECAF's leading actors on one stage
— featuring the Nụ Cười children's theatre

   The summer run is over, but the show is coming back for the Mid-Autumn season: the company plays one short block at the end of September — the 25th, 26th and 27th. On Friday the 25th there is a single evening performance, at 20:00; on Saturday the 26th the troupe plays at 16:00 and at 20:00; on Sunday the 27th at 09:30, at 16:00 and at 20:00.

   The stage brings together the core troupe audiences know from the whole "Ngày Xửa Ngày Xưa" series: Bach Long (Bạch Long), Thanh Thuy (Thanh Thuỷ), Hoang Trinh (Hoàng Trinh), Dai Nghia (Đại Nghĩa), My Duyen (Mỹ Duyên), Hong Anh (Hồng Ánh) and Quoc Thinh (Quốc Thịnh). Dinh Toan appears both as director and performer, a familiar double role in these productions.

   "Ngày Xửa Ngày Xưa" is a long-running IDECAF summer tradition: each season the troupe stages a new full-length fairy tale, and this thirty-seventh edition sends the audience into a magic academy where young heroes learn spells and, along the way, a few plain truths about honesty and helping one another.

   Tickets are split into zones: VVIP — 400 000 VND, VIP — 350 000 VND, THƯỜNG (standard seats) — 300 000 VND, and LẦU (balcony) — 250 000 VND. The closer to the stage, the more of the effects and the actors' expressions you catch.

   It is built for a family outing: a clear story and live music for children, sharp acting and double-layered humour for adults — long a signature of IDECAF's children's shows. A gentle first theatre trip for younger kids.

   Seats are worth booking early, since popular dates in the series sell out fast: tickets on ticketbox.vn.

   Bring the whole family and see who believes in magic first.