As the sun dips behind the tree line in the sylvan countryside of Venjaramoodu, Rangaprabhath Children’s Theatre bustles with activity. Adults and children go about the place preparing for the evening’s performances. But it all seems a bit too quiet for a theatre festival, let alone the fourth day of the ‘9th National Children’s Theatre Festival’ held in memory of the late theatre doyen K. Kochunarayanan Pillai, one of the founders of Rangaprabhath.
K.S. Geetha, daughter of Kochunarayanan and secretary of Rangaprabhath, waves me in.
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It’s quiet, she says, as the performances have been shifted indoors. “Yesterday it rained right in the middle of a performance on the open stage. We had to gather the props and make a dash for the indoor hall. We don’t want to risk it again,” she says. Geetha took over Rangaprabhath after her father’s demise in 2007 and the festival was launched the following year. The seven-day festival, which stages plays from across India, begins every year on September 25 and ends on October 1.
Although the initial response was lukewarm, the festival has grown over the years and Geetha gives the credit to theatre lovers of Venjaramoodu, who, she says, have always supported Rangaprabhath.
“Children’s theatre is still a misunderstood concept. People often think these plays feature only children. Also, most plays that kids act in are stories for and by adults. Ideally, a children’s play should present a story that children can relate to,” explains Geetha. Such plays need not necessarily feature child actors.
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For instance, The Exchange Student , an English play staged on the third day of the festival, had veteran stage artiste Trishla Patel playing a school student.
“It was fun to watch her performance. When an adult plays a child, there is a fun element to it and children love watching it. It piques their interest and curiosity,” she adds.
Meanwhile, the first batch of performers have arrived. Intellectual Library troupe from Kottarakara is one of the two groups performing that evening.
More than a dozen cheerful kids troop to a complex behind the open stage that has guest rooms as well as the auditorium. I catch up with three 13-year-olds, Praveen Krishnan, Adarsh. N. Nair and Athul Kumar, who will be teaming up for Marupattu , a reinterpretation of the popular Malayalam rhyme Ayyappantamma neyyappam chuttu... . It tells the tale of Ayyappan, who hates crows because he believes his mother died in an accident while chasing a crow that stole a neyyappam she had made.
“Most of us will be dressing up as crows,” quips Adarsh. He and Athul have been performing for the last two years as part of the troupe. But for Praveen this is a first. “And he’ll be playing Ayyappan, the lead character,”says Athul patting a nervous Praveen on the back.
The crew are as excited as the young cast about the festival. While Rajesh, director of Marupattu , sees the festival as a pilgrimage for children and anyone who loves children’s theatre, Kashi Pookod who is with Pookod Kalalayam, a cultural group based in Pookod, near Kozhikode, points out that Rangaprabath has made immense contributions to the theatre scene of Kerala and the festival is an invaluable experience to get a glimpse of best of children’s theatre from all over India.
As the crew and cast leave to get ready for the performance, I go back to find Geetha. She is all gung ho about how her protégé, Hariraj had won the best actor in a school competition. The festival will end with a performance by Hariraj and his classmate, Naveen K.S. They will perform an adaptation of the award-winning novel Kunjunniyude Yathra Pusthakam, in which they will share the stage with Geetha.
After a talk on ‘Modern Theatre’ by Professor Aliyar, it is well past 7 pm when the curtains rise to the cackle of crows. Children, dressed up as crows, swamp the stage. Soon Praveen, as the vengeful Ayyappan, sets out to destroy the crows, steals the spotlight. And its curtains up for the fourth day of the festival. The show goes on