Children's musical play «Bộ Lạc Nanh Trắng» (The White Fang Tribe)

   An adventure that runs about an hour and a half, which is roughly as long as the youngest audience can sit still without looking away from the stage. A group of children gets lost among a forest tribe that a sorcerer has been leading by the nose, and they have to outwit him on their own. One of Saigon's long-running drama stages tells it gently, putting the adventure before the moral.

   The story: little Bớt, little Ly, their elder sister Mi and the dog Vá stray into a small tribe. The tribespeople have been told by a sorcerer that unless they offer precious timber, ivory and tiger skin to the spirits, the tribe will perish, so they hunt and clear the forest day and night while the animals panic. The four newcomers team up with Tia Chớp Đen, the chieftain's son, and the unmasking starts there.

   The short of it:

   — directed by Huy Hoàng, staged as a musical play, with singing carried through the plot;
— the cast is led by Mỹ Uyên, a People's Artist, with Nguyễn Hồng Đào, Lâm Thắng, Trần Tuấn Kiệt, Khánh Đăng, Thanh Thuý, Đăng Quang and Phạm Mỹ Châu;
— two child actors, Gia Hân and Gia Cát, play alongside the adults;
— running time is around ninety minutes and the story stays light.

   It suits families with kindergarten and primary-school children: the plot is easy to follow, and parents get a natural opening to talk about cutting down forests and about trusting strangers. Expect an audible hall, because this is the kind of show where kids shout along with the characters.

   The producing theatre describes itself as a flagship example of Ho Chi Minh City's socialised stage model over the past 28 years, and children's plays are a regular part of its repertoire. The performance is in Vietnamese, and the plot is carried as much by the costumes, the tribal make-up and the music as by the lines, so younger visitors follow it by watching.

   Bring the children along and let them meet the tribe in the forest.