AHA! ...once again!

The Aha! International  theatre for children festival is back at Rangashankara between the 10^th and 20^th of July! Like last year…the festival boasts of an impressive line-up of children’s plays by theatre groups from India and all over the world, including a plays for toddlers and a film show for older kids. Like last year…....we checked the festival schedule and had our tickets booked as soon as the bookings opened. Like last year, we’re taking turns to accompany Abhay for five of the eight plays being staged this year. So if Abhay’s daddy took him for “The Little Blue Planet” yesterday, it was my turn to take him for “Heroes Weroes” today…. And his grandparents have chipped in to take him for the Yakshagana performance tomorrow….and so on! Unlike last year though…this year  Abhay’s school too has come forward has planned a class field trip for one of the plays during the coming week……thus saving us from readjusting our schedule for one weekday at least! Phew!! J

 

Today’s performance is “Heroes Werose” by Theateact, Mumbai. This is a hilarious physical comedy that seeks to question the idea of a super hero solving all our problems. Abhay was completely taken in by the super hero histrionics, lighting effects and couldn’t stop laughing at the supposed dialogues…a mix of English and Gibberish! If ever happen get a chance…don’t miss the play Heroes Werose!

 

 

As a follow-up to the play, we read “Eric! ..the hero?” by Chris Wormwell. This is the story of Eric who seemed to be no good at anything and was called many names  like Twit, Dummy, Dunce and Dope! Eric thus felt miserable and he ran away. As he grew tired, he began wandering in the forest… when he heard a shout from a woodcutter who came rushing out of the woods screaming that a huge monster has come down from the mountains and suddenly hordes of people  were seen fleeing across the fields towards the king’s castle. As Eric turned and ran with them, they felt enormous footsteps of the Monster approach when he heard someone shouting – “Where’s a hero when you need one”…to which someone else shouted back that any hero would need to be a twit to fight someone as huge as the said monster and others added in that he’d have to be a Nitwit or a dummy or a dunce or a dope! This made Eric think since he was considered to be all of that….he may as well be a hero and wondered if that’s what he’s good at??!!! Does Eric become a hero, after all? Read on as everyone in the castle, including his mother watch as Eric takes on the monster who in turn happens to be wallowing in self-doubt himself! We all are our own heroes….isn’t it??