A virtual object theatre festival for children this weekend will retell three classics with a contemporary twist and raise funds for artistes
Choiti Ghosh
Did you ever imagine a world where The Little Mermaid, Ariel, moved from the pages of the classic fairy tale to a dystopian world where the ocean was choking with plastic pollution? Or an era where the ultimate saviour of damsels in distress, Prince Charming, was ageing? Or if the story of The Little Red Riding Hood was told from the perspective of the Big Bad Wolf?
Basak’s The Life and Times of Mr Prince Charming
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This weekend, Tram Arts Trust, an object theatre company with one foot in Mumbai and another in New Delhi, has joined hands with Versova-based Harkat Studios to kick off a unique virtual object theatre festival for kids.
Fairytales Retold will retell classic fairy tales with a contemporary twist and feature live performances by talented young artistes Abhishek Basak, Dharanya Srinivasan and Sannidhi Surop, who will not only revisit the classics with alternate perspectives but also make it relevant to the present day with the use of everyday objects. And so you will experience the joys of matrimony through shoes, witness feminism through shampoo bottles and environmental genocide through brooms.
The Mermaid and the Goblin by Srinivasan will narrate Ariel’s battle against Ursula, a mop who refuses to clean the plastic pollution that has encroached the ocean, and has enslaved its creatures. Basak’s The Life and Times of Prince Charming will showcase the character speaking of love and heartache, the toils of domesticity, the itch for adventure and how the seeds of patriarchy inspired his creation. And The Hunt by Surop, set in the woods, will delve into the wolf’s perspective of how myths and stories impact animals.
Choiti Ghosh, artistic director of the trust, shares, “Fairy tales are a rich body of work. Much like epics, they do not dry out. They can be interpreted in several ways and lend themselves beautifully to visual art forms like object theatre. You can create a whole universe in a box, thanks to the dimensionality and accessibility of everyday objects at home. The online medium has helped us reach audiences across borders and we have people purchasing tickets from across South America and Europe, apart from Asia.”
The proceeds from the festival will help artistes in need. The long-term goal is to create an online platform to help them showcase their works and generate regular income.
On: November 28 and 29, 4 pm onwards
Log on to: insider.in
Cost: Rs 200 onwards
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