Books come alive for children at Vellayambalam

"Anything is possible with a book. We can sing a book, we can whisper a book, we can pantomime a book, or we can just simply read it to anyone" says performing artiste Françoise Calvel.

Children came under the spell of artiste Françoise Calvel, known popularly as FanFan, as she performed ‘Panda Goes to School’ and ‘Postman Pat’ in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. Special arragement

“Anything is possible with a book. We can sing a book, we can whisper a book, we can pantomime a book, or we can just simply read it to anyone” says performing artiste Françoise Calvel (known popularly as FanFan).

On Saturday evening, 30 children at the schoolkutti.com children’s library in Vellayambalam witnessed two books coming alive, as FanFan and Ajayan dressed up as clowns and acted out the characters for them. Armed with the clownish big red nose, a flowing gown, and the books ‘Panda Goes to School’ and ‘Postman Pat,’ they kept the children and their parents under their spell for two hours.

“I have done this kind of performances for children in several libraries in France, though this is the first time I am trying it out here. The main tool is the book and it is all about how to tell a story differently,” she says. This quirky way of storytelling was born out of her regular story sessions with her eight-year-old daughter. “We read together for some time everyday. When she was small, I used to read to her, now we read together. It is a different feeling when someone reads out a book for you. Something gets added to the book, compared to the time when we read it on our own. I try to catch the tempo of the book and read accordingly. Here, we are trying to present ourselves as the characters of the book, rather than just plainly reading it,” she says.

Though most children were laughing out loud and were almost jumping in delight at their typically loud, fast, and quirky style of rendering the story, a few got scared initially and had tears welling up. But then, it was not long before they also jelled in.

FanFan, who came to Kerala 11 years ago, says that it was ‘choice’ rather than ‘chance’ that led her to settle down here.

“I came here to learn Kathakali. Later, I ended up living here. Now, I am learning Bharatanatyam and Kalaripayattu, elements from which appear in my plays and performances. I hate to be put into a specific box as a drama artiste or comedienne,” she says.

She calls her brand of theatre ‘anthropological theatre.’ One of her shows, “Once upon a time…,” is currently touring the State.