What happens when a box of crayons decides to quit on its owner? A laugh riot and an unleashing of the imagination. Their stories came to stage at Atta Galatta, Koramangala, last week in a devised play The Day the Crayons Quit, directed by Anna Thomas, and presented by Jugaad Co.
Parents and their children trooped into the performance space. The children warmed up to the actors instantly. And most of them brought along the book on which the play was based, The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt. The actors wore long-pointed caps in different colours to depict crayons. While red was upset that he was used only to colour apples, roses, strawberries, tomatoes, and Santa Claus, green didn't have too many problems except she wanted a better name than a boring ‘green’. Through a fashion show, Pink complained about being used only to colour pretty clothes. Meanwhile white was upset that she couldn’t be seen despite being used to colour the sky. But the children displayed so much insight that it would put any adult to shame. One boy said: “But you can be seen white! When you are used in coloured paper!”
And while black was lamenting being used only used to colour borders and outlines, one girl consoled her with: “No no! Look at the colour of the curtains in the room! They’re black!”
When blue complained that he was exhausted as too much of him is used to colour entire expanses of skies and oceans, reducing him to a little stump, one child commented: “But at least Kavya uses you!”
The fight between yellow and orange was about what is the real colour of the sun. A majority of the children yelled: “The colour of the sun is yellow!” with only a few dissenting voices.
There were a number of things that stood out in the production: the innovation in terms of the actors using their bodies as sets, being a waterfall or the rays of the sun, for example; the hilarious music and of course the performances by Kavya, Sreecharan, Kelly, Mirchi RJ Nidhi and Jimmy Xavier. But what stood out in particular was the fact that the play didn’t speak at or to the children, but was performed with the children.
The adults in the audience not only enjoyed themselves but also received a few lessons on how to give reign to their imagination and sharpen critical thinking. Being children such traits were in abundance and they manifested them in their engagement with the play.
