Play creates a record of sorts in children’s theatre

This is the first full-length children’s play produced by the Prithvi Theatre, although there have been one-act productions earlier. “Considering the status of English theatre in Mumbai and elsewhere, The Boy…‘s 100 shows certainly constitute a record of sorts, at least in non-commercial theatre.” The troupe will soon perform in schools in places as diverse as Ajmer, Hyderabad and Goa. Interestingly, the play is visiting some of the same institutions that Sanjna Kapoor’s grandparents, Geoffrey and Laura Kendall’s international theatre company Shakespeareana had toured in the fifties and sixties. Jennifer Kapoor, who was instrumental in building up the Prithvi Theatre, was part of the Shakespeareana company.

The Boy Who Stopped Smiling is a Grips play for children. In any Grips play the issues involve children (though there are no child artistes), and young adults play the role of children. Playwright Ramanathan conceived the play during his interaction with practitioners of Grips theatre in Pune. He had also attended a workshop addressed by the father of the Grips movement, Volker Ludwig. “It think it is the music and games that attract children to it. Even for the artistes, on and off stage, the play involves great fun and entertainment. It is an enjoyable exercise. Little wonder that the play has demonstrated so much staying power in a city like Mumbai where eleven children’s plays (in all languages) are on the boards currently,” Ramanathan said.

The playwright is working on yet another children’s play, as yet unfinished, this time about a girl. Titled Manasvi Can’t Yahoo, it deals with a new age young girl who is easily bored with everything.

The Boy…‘s success lies to a large part in the lighter vein in which it has been written. As Kshipra Jain, a backstage artiste associated with the play since its inception, recalls, “Most school children want to talk to the boy (played by Jaimini Pathak) after the performance. And the free-wheeling chat with school kids, along with their parents, becomes an educative experience for us all. One wishes there are more such interactive plays for children.”