Annual Theatre Day 2019
“We must all do theatre, to find out who we are, and to discover who we could become" – Augusto Boal
As the sun set on Saturday, the likes of Harry Potter, Ebenezer Scrooge and Rahmun, the Kabuliwallah rose to share tales of courage, compassion and love. The second edition of Stagecraft, our annual theatre show saw students of grades 6 – 9 don an array of roles cutting across social and cultural boundaries with poise. The day was made even more special with the presence of Mr Appa Ramesh, a theatre artist and banker, who was worked closely with Crazy Mohan.
Tracking the journey of a young boy as he finds his way through a library and in the process, transforms from a fearful timid child to a courageous boy, students of grade 6 presented their act on an adaptation of the book Pagemaster by David Kirschner. As the protagonist battles books and characters from various genre including fantasy, horror and adventure, we saw popular characters including Harry Potter, Voldemort, Robin Hood and Frankenstein, amongst others, come to life. The colourful props and costumes aptly supported the children as they lit up the stage with their performances.
From the imaginary world of books, the audience was transported to the merry streets of Calcutta. The students of grade 7 enacted their adaptation of the popular play Kabuliwallah, penned by Rabindranath Tagore. As little Mini jumped around in her middle class home, she first fears and then befriends the Kabuliwallah, a Hazara merchant from Kabul. The story captures the beautiful bond and unconventional relationship between the two. Lessons of empathy, kindness and understanding were imparted through their apt depiction of the various roles. We saw children dance to marriage tunes, play the roles of tired workers and street sellers with credence.
The bright and colourful Indian setting transformed into the bleak, cold streets of London as students of grade 8 presented their piece, adapted from ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens. We saw elderly miser, Ebenezer Scrooge encounter the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and yet to come. His journey with the three ghosts and his transformation to a kinder, gentler man was captured aptly by the students.
Even as the audience delighted in these time-tested tales, they were thrown into reality with a powerful mime performance on female abuse and empowerment. Moving swiftly across the stage, with their actions and facial expressions, they offered a hard hitting imagery of the travails that women have faced in society. Their performance stirred the deepest emotions amongst those present and served as a befitting final act.
Mr Appa Ramesh and our principal Ms Sudha Balan addressed the gathering and appreciated the hardwork put in by the students and teachers. The day ended by a vote of thanks delivered by a student.
Be it narration or story-telling, acting or dance, our students played their roles with verve. As the curtains were drawn on Stagecraft, teachers and students were filled with a feeling of fulfilment and satisfaction.