With six out of nine premiering plays at this year's Prithvi Summertime festival inspired by cult literary classics, Mumbai's theatre circle was feeling self-important at helping children's theatre grow up. But can you truly get, respect and reflect on Shaw when you are 12 years-old, wonders Aditi Sharma
With six out of nine premiering plays at this year's Prithvi Summertime festival inspired by cult literary classics, Mumbai's theatre circle was feeling self-important at helping children's theatre grow up. But can you truly get, respect and reflect on Shaw when you are 12 years-old, wonders Aditi Sharma
Writer JW Eagan once said, "Never judge a book by its movie."
He was right. Would we be stretching it if we borrowed the analogy for theatre? If a movie, with all its technical finesse, cannot do justice to a literary classic, what miracles can a children's play that has been inspired by a piece of literature hope to pull off? 
Kids catch a performance of Proscenium's Two Blind Mice (Hindi/English),
a children's adaptation of Samuel Beckett's cult classic, Waiting For Godot.
Director Chandan Roy Sanyal turned characters Vladimir, Gogo, Lucky
and Pozzo into 10 year-olds
Theatre groups across the city participating at Prithvi's annual children's theatre festivalu00a0 Summertime, don't seem daunted by the challenge.
From Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's famous short story Kabuliwala to Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw's satire on war and heroism Arms and the Man, and venerated Indian social activist Mahasweta Devi's Why Why Girl, the Mumbai stage is bubbling with performances based on critically-appreciated literary works. The common factor -- they have all been adapted for stage, and for kids.
It's an introduction to great literature
"For parents, a play is a beautiful way to introduce their kids to great works. Don't insist that they read the classics when they are just 10 years old. But when they turn 20, and they read the work in college, they'll remember what they once saw," says Naseeruddin Shah. The film and stage veteran who is the force behind Motley Theatre Group, plays a supporting role in Armsu00a0 & the Man, the adaptation of Shaw's 1894 play.
When Shah first announced that he was working on the Shavian comedy for children, the theatre circle was rife with doubt. How would iPod-wielding kids get a 117-year old play set during the 1885 Serbo-Bulgarian War that satirises those who glorify conflict? Shah was confident. A quality production would draw in even the young and restless. Shah first saw Shaw's play when he too was just six years old. A student at St Joseph school in Nainital, he didn't get all of it, but he loved the funny bits.
Eleven year-old Mumbai girl Kesar Majithia bought a ticket to Arms & the Man, and came away with a smile. "Most children's plays are based on fairytales.
I never knew that he (Shaw) was a big writer, and I thought he was still alive. It was after watching the play that I spoke to my parents and learned more about him," says the student of Vibgyor High School, who also caught Akvarious Productions' Peter Pan, which she brushes off as 'kiddish' in comparison.
But 12 year-old Rudraveer Reddy, thought Peter Pan's humour, "even during battle scenes", made the play enjoyable to watch. "The lights are dimmed and brightened according to the mood of the characters. The sprinkling of rhyming couplets adds to the humour," writes Reddy in a review on the Prithvi blog.
He wished the play had more songs, though, and felt that Captain Hook's introduction was detailed enough even for those unfamiliar with the story.
Back in the rehearsal room, while catching a preview of Two Blind Mice (an adaptation of Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot), and Arms & The Man, one couldn't help but wonder if there was any point working with a complicated text for an audience that cares little for theatre etiquette. If they don't like what they see, you will know. Even in a play like Peter Pan, with its fair share of gimmicks, a constant distracted buzz enveloped the venue. The need for children's theatre to move away low comedy and banal scripts is clear, but are absurdist plays really the answer?
Foot-fall guaranteed
For a theatre group, working with a classic text or a story by a well-known playwright helps draw the parent's attention. It's the parents, say theatrewallas, who decide what their children will watch. "For the children, watching a play turns into a memorable experience. For parents like me, it's easy to decide which performance they should catch. If it's a classic, we are familiar with the story," says Kesar's father JD Majithia, a Gujarati theatre and television personality.
While Kesar may have taken to 'classic' theatre, JD says his younger daughter Misri still goes for comedies.
That's probably the reason why most plays this year were age-specific. Ranga Theatre's Wonderland based on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Cervantes' Don Quixote, and Proscenium's Two Blind Mice were for children aged eight and above. Arms & the Man was for the 12 year-olds. "In the last five years, we've focussed on coercing regular groups to look at children's theatre more seriously. We are conscientiously slating our plays for different age groups," admits Sanjna Kapoor, director, Prithvi Theatre and festival organiser.
Those who read, watch too
Most don't see any drawbacks. Kids unfamiliar with the classics are driven by curiosity that a play may pique, to pick up the book. As for theatre groups, they believe they are creating a future drama audience. In this cheerful scenario, Tasneem Fatehi doesn't mind playing sceptic. Fatehi, who handles Theatre Professional's Drama in Schools Programme, says, "Being a visual art form, theatre obviously has a more effective impact on children. When they watch a play, they are most likely to remember the story for long after. Unfortunately, most kids who drop by for these performances are the ones who read the classics anyway."
It's a more aggressive initiative on the part of the parents and educational institutions that might be the answer, she suggests.
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