Children's play «Biệt Đội Gà Vịt» (The Chicken and Duck Squad)

   A duckling everyone on the farm calls odd is the one who works out how to save the flock — a lesson small children take from a stage far better than from a lecture.

   The show riffs on the familiar tale of the ugly duckling. Duck Mo (Vịt Mơ) and her squad of chickens live on Madame Uyen's Happy Farm; a crow and a rat scheme to trap the animals for dinner, and the escape runs on wit, songs and games rather than force.

   At a glance:

• — written by Vuong Huyen Co (Vương Huyền Cơ), directed by People's Artist My Uyen (Mỹ Uyên), who also performs
• — a musical with real stage magic, built for preschool and early primary ages
• — cast includes Minh Thao (Minh Thảo), Ky Thien Canh (Kỳ Thiên Cảnh), Huynh Nhu (Huỳnh Nhu), Minh Quoc (Minh Quốc), Khanh Dang (Khánh Đăng), Thanh Thuy (Thanh Thúy) and child performers Gia Han and Thien Kim
• — the takeaway: stick together, and respect the one who is different

   5B is a genuinely small house on Võ Văn Tần in the old District 3 area, ten minutes from the Independence Palace. For children that intimacy is the point — every trick reads clearly and shouting back at the characters is expected. There is a single GA tier, no zones to choose between.

   If you are looking for a weekend afternoon that keeps a five-year-old engaged without a screen, this is a tidy option in the middle of town. Book through the event page on ticketbox.vn.

   The performance is in Vietnamese, but songs, magic and slapstick carry most of the story, so a child without the language still follows the plot.

   Give your kids an afternoon on the Happy Farm — they will be quoting the duck for a week.