Stage set for kids' tryst with theatre at Ranga Shankara

This weekend, parents can keep their children entertained with folk tales and fables from across the globe and India. The eighth edition of Ranga Shankara’s AHA! international theatre festival will be held from July 8 to 14 on the theatre premises in JP Nagar.

The children’s theatre festival features seven performances from South Korea, Afghanistan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany and India.

“There is no Cinderella or Chhota Bheem in our festival. The plays are realistic and children can relate to them because it is about their concerns and angst,” said Surendranath, artistic director at Ranga Shankara.

The plays are meant to make children aware about the world around them and to make them ask questions. Most of the productions do not have a language barrier and even adults can enjoy them.

“What the adults will take away from the play is very different from what children will. But they enjoy being there with the children as the experience of watching a play together is different from that of watching a movie,” Surendranath said.

The festival opens on Saturday with a Ranga Shankara production titled ‘Circle of Life,’ which traces the stages of life from a child to an old man to a child, again.

Theater Gruene Sosse from Germany will present ‘3 Times King’ about the stress and nightmares behind the luxury of being a king.

A mischievous girl, unhappy with her father going off to work, wears his overcoat and unravels a magical world of adventure in ‘Yao Yao’ by Brush Theatre from South Korea.

With ‘Small Fables’ by Finger and Thumb from UK, children will be amused by shadow puppets as they depict short, silly stories of dogs, camels and rabbits. The world of a creepy-crawly cockroach will come alive in ‘Tilchattey Ki Diary’ by Yellowcat Theatre from New Delhi. The play is about the consequences of clashes between humans and nature. 

Parwana Theater and Puppet Theatre Group from Afghanistan bring an Urdu play ‘Hans in Luck’ about a young man’s encounter with trading. ‘Man with a Hunchback’ by Figurentheater from Switzerland is based on a folk song about a hunchback who tells humorous stories about daily failures. Tickets are available on bookmyshow.com.