A group of children under the aegis of Chilanka Floating Theatre is getting ready for an all-India tour with the play Neelakkoduveli Pookkunna Gramathil , a take on child abuse in the country.
The play, written by Sunil Nagampara and directed by Bichoos Chilanka, has been staged more than 50 times over the last 13 years. It is being produced under Vilakkumadam, a project against child abuse promoted by Chilanka Floating Theatre.
Mr. Bichoos said the children taking part in the play were selected from various schools and would undergo a 10-day theatre camp in April before they set off for the tour. They will stage the play at Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai, Adisakthi in Puducherry, the National School of Drama and Attakkalari in Bengaluru.
The dialogues of the play were developed by children who were part of various theatre camps organised by Chilanka. “They were provided only the thread of the story, and they included dialogues they felt were right for the situation,” Mr. Bichoos said.
He said the play struck a chord with the audience when it was staged at the Government Children’s Home in Kozhikode on August 15, 2016. “Many participants had gone through experiences described in the play, and thus could relate to them much better than those children living with their families,” he added.
The play is not bound by the barriers of language as children who acted in it hailed from different States and had incorporated their respective languages in it.
Meanwhile, Sada-charam , another play developed by the theatre group on the theme of moral policing, will also be part of the tour and will be staged at the same venues on different dates by a different set of children.
The play, when staged by students of St. Vincent Girls’ High School, Kozhikode at the Kerala State School Arts Festival this year, had won them a third prize. It was also developed as part of a theatre camp.
Both plays will have children taking care of various aspects of theatre such as make-up, lighting, stage settings, costumes and properties.
