When children wait for Godot

Actor-director Chandan Roy Sanyal is not just experimenting with playwright Samuel Beckett's classic Waiting For Godot. He is making it into a children's' playu00a0

As is characteristic of children, there is never any sugar-coating. The fervour with which they clap at something exciting, can only be matched with their boredom on watching something monotonous. One could see this last month, when Prithvi Theatre held a sneak preview of plays and workshops that are part of the children's theatre festival, Summertime.


From left to right: Noel Manasseh, Abhishek Saha, Trupti Khamkar and
Dhruv Lohumi. Pic/Anuja Gupta

During the preview, however, there was a special interest in how children would react to one particular performance. After all, the four actors making their way to the stage were going to perform a tidbit of Proscenium's Two Blind Mice, and the first act of none other than Samuel Beckett's great absurdist play Waiting For Godot. Would the children be bored? Would Waiting for Godot prove too tedious a task? However, the children present lapped up the performance, giggling and gasping, until Estragon (also called Gogo) began struggling with his boots. The gag amused most of the audience but one keen-eyed child innocently pointed out, "But your shoelace is tied!" The audience, even those squirming at the thought of Beckett's play being twisted mercilessly, burst out laughing.

The episode made one thing clear: tiny tots may not get the essence of Beckett's masterpiece, but they will surely enjoy the performances. The full act will be performed tonight and director Chandan Sanyal (well-known for playing the character Mikhail in Kaminey) does not expect his child audience to understand the play. "That's why I'm using a clown sort of treatment, making it over the top and funny and playing a game within the play," says Sanyal. He adds, "Even if I just sow the seed of Beckett's idea in their head, that will be my reward."

Like most theatre professionals, Sanyal has wanted to perform the play ever since he first read it. The idea of turning the characters of the playu00a0-- Vladimir (Didi), Gogo, Lucky and Pozzou00a0-- into 10-year olds is something he's been mulling over for a while. As for interpreting Beckett's philosophy of waiting, Sanyal says, "When we were growing up, there was a need for a lot of things. There was a lot of waiting. When I was growing up I was waiting for food, clothes, shoes, Diwali money, etc. Now, kids carry iPods, go to big schools, holiday abroad, but I'm sure they too are waiting for something more." However, in contrast to the current generation, Sanyal's characters are seen waiting for a meal, warm clothes and, of course, Godot.

While the 32 year-old director recreates Waiting For Godot, he realises that purists might not appreciate his messing with the play. "I'm not scared of upsetting Godot-fanatics because I've spent a lot of time working on the play. I've not twisted the lines. I make sure that my actors stick to the words written by Beckett. At the end of the day, the play is specially meant for kids. But if there is criticism, we'll deal with it when we have to," he says.

Having spent nearly five months working on the first act, Sanyal believes he has got the confidence to work on a full-fledged production. For Two Blind Mice, he's sticking only to the first act but soon he'll incorporate the second act into the production. "I can't hold a child's attention for too long, so for the children's shows, we'll perform only the first act. Later we will add the second act in which we see Didi and Gogo as grown ups," Sanyal says. Beckett fans, watch out for this one.

At: 8 pm, Horniman Circle Garden, opposite Asiatic Society, Fort
Entry: Free