Musical 'Nobody’s Boy' (Khong Gia Dinh): Vietnam-France cultural exchange in the heart of the Capital
On May 9, the musical "Khong Gia Dinh" was performed at the Nha hat Tuoi Tre (Youth Theatre of Vietnam), offering the capital's audience an emotionally rich night while opening a unique cultural exchange space between Vietnam and France through theatrical art.
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On the occasion of International Children's Day on June 1, Nha hat Tuoi Tre presents the musical "Khong Gia Dinh" as an artistic gift for children and families. Beyond being mere entertainment, the play also opens up a broader story about how Vietnamese theatre approaches the world's literary masterpieces amidst deepening cultural exchanges.
Inspired by Hector Malot's classic novel Sans Famille, the play recreates the tumultuous journey of the boy Remi - a child without a family but always yearning for love and a place to belong. More than just a wandering child's tale, "Khong Gia Dinh" is a journey of resilience, compassion, and faith in the good amidst life's many upheavals.
More than a century after its creation, these humanistic values remain vibrant. The desire to be loved, heard, and belong to a home is not only Remi's story but also a sentiment that resonates with today's audiences, especially the youth in modern society.
Beyond the weight of the original work, the play impresses with its Vietnamese adaptation on stage. Not stopping at translation, the team chose a storytelling approach closer to Vietnamese audiences through the rhythm of the performance, character emotions, and theatrical expression.
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| The timeless humanistic values of "Khong Gia Dinh" about family, sharing, and the journey of self-discovery are adapted by the artists of Nha hat Tuoi Tre. (Photo: Reporter) |
Sharing about the adaptation process, People's Artist Anh Tuyet, director of the musical "Khong Gia Dinh", stated: "The hardest part is not simply adapting the novel's content, but preserving the 'soul' of the original when bringing it to the Vietnamese stage".
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| People's Artist Anh Tuyet - director of the musical "Khong Gia Dinh". |
According to her, the work embodies deep humanism and the spirit of 19th-century Europe, so the team had to find a new way to tell the story so that today's audiences, especially the youth, still feel connected to Remi's journey. This is also a familiar challenge for many adapted stages today: how to embrace international artistic excellence without losing local cultural identity. In the case of "Khong Gia Dinh", the team chose to retain the humanistic spirit of the original but narrate it with emotions and rhythms more relatable to Vietnamese audiences.
Notably, the play uses classical music combined with new orchestration to bring academic music closer to young audiences while creating a unique colour for Vietnamese musical theatre. According to People's Artist Anh Tuyet, instead of trying to recreate a 19th-century France in an "authentic" way, it is more important for the audience to feel the breath of life and human emotions in the story.
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| "Khong Gia Dinh" aims to bring academic music closer to Vietnamese audiences. (Photo: Reporter) |
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| Director of Nha hat Tuoi Tre, People's Artist Nguyen Si Tien. |
Discussing the development direction of theatre in the current integration context, Director of Nha hat Tuoi Tre, People's Artist Nguyen Si Tien, stated: "Theatre is not just a simple art performance activity but also a cultural dialogue bridge between Vietnam and the world". According to him, international adaptations are opportunities for Vietnamese theatre to access the world's artistic excellence while retelling stories with a Vietnamese spirit and emotions.
For many years, cultural exchange has been a significant highlight in Vietnam-France relations, spanning education, cinema, and the performing arts. The continued adaptation and reception of a classic French literary work on the Vietnamese stage demonstrate the enduring vitality of the cultural bridge between the two countries.
According to the Director of Nha hat Tuoi Tre, the most important thing for Vietnamese theatre to reach international audiences is not to become "international-like" but to maintain Vietnamese cultural identity in a modern, emotionally rich, and humanly connected expression.
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| International audiences are fascinated by musical theatre in Vietnam. (Photo: Reporter) |
Not only attracting domestic audiences, but the performance also saw the participation of many young foreigners living and working in Hanoi. Nicol, an international audience member present at the performance, shared that what impressed him was how Vietnamese theatre conveyed emotions that were relatable and community-rich. "Even though the story originates from Europe, I still felt many Vietnamese cultural elements in the acting and emotional expression," she shared.
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| The musical, with its contemporary theatrical language, wins the audience's affection. (Photo: Reporter) |
The presence of international audiences somewhat shows that theatrical art is becoming a "common language" that transcends national or linguistic differences. When stories about family, compassion, or the journey of growth are told with sincere emotions, they can create empathy across different cultures.
In the context of increasingly strong international exchanges, the musical "Khong Gia Dinh" is not just a work for children or families, but also showcases the efforts of Vietnamese theatre in approaching global artistic values with its own identity. In the heart of the capital, stages like Nha hat Tuoi Tre are gradually becoming vibrant cultural connection spaces between Vietnam and international friends.
| Born in 1878 in France, Hector Malot's novel Sans Famille quickly became one of the most famous works of children's literature of 19th-century French literature. The story of the boy Remi on his journey to find family, love, and belonging transcended the confines of an adventure novel to become a symbol of compassion, resilience, and the desire to be loved. More than a century after its creation, "Khong Gia Dinh" continues to be widely reprinted worldwide and translated into many languages, such as English, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, and Vietnamese. The work has also been adapted into various art forms, from films, television series, to animations and musical theatre. Notably, the Japanese anime version "Nobody's Boy: Remi" made a significant impact in Asia in the late 1970s, while the French film "Rémi, Nobody's Boy" released in 2018 continued to bring this classic story to a new generation of audiences. Not only present in literature, but "Khong Gia Dinh" also has a lasting life on stages in many countries like France, Japan, Italy, and Korea, through spoken and musical theatre versions for children. In Vietnam, work has long been a part of the childhood memories of many generations of readers through classic literary translations. In recent years, "Khong Gia Dinh" has continued to be brought to the musical stage by Nha hat Tuoi Tre, marking a notable effort in Vietnamese adaptation of world classic literature through contemporary theatrical language. |
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