The Hindu : ANISHA SHETH
Soul of theatre: No barriers
From re-telling popular stories in an entertaining way to advocating fair treatment for animals, “Makkala Dani”, a children’s theatre festival in Bangalore, tapped into the potential that theatre holds as a medium.
The festival was organised by Rangayana Mysore and Swedish ITI and was held at K.V. Subbanna Aptha Rangamandira last week.Variety of plays
The theatre festival saw six performances, all by children’s troupes. Most of the plays were examples of ‘intimate theatre’,in which the distance between the actors and the audience is almost non-existent. About 70 people, young and old, watched the plays with great eagerness.
On the inaugural day, two plays were staged: “Manasika Khayile”, performed by K.V.Subbanna Apthasamuha, and “Makkala Hakku” by the Paraspara Trust’s Baale Vasathi Nilaya. Both were directed by Vanaja Kolagi.
The former dealt with the problems faced by children when there are problems at home, while the latter was on children’s rights.
A play by Kuvempu, “Nanna Gopala”, portrayed the relationship between humans and God through the beliefs of one boy, and the influence of his faith on those around him. It was staged by Ranga Kahale, and directed by C. Lakshmana.
“Veera Vrasasena” was a Yakshagana performance by Yakshadegula, and depicted an incident from the Mahabharata, and directed by K. Mohan. “Hakkiya Haadu” is a play by Vaidehi.
Through the story of a king who loved the song of a myna , the play showed that technology can never be a substitute for some things. “Govina Haadu” was performed by Vijayanagara Bimba and directed by S.V. Sushma. The Benaka Makkala Nataka Kendra performed the play, which was directed by Krishnamurthy Kavathar.
The final play was “Mayavada Mola”, by Karnataka Andhara Kshemabhivridhi Samsthe. The director was Dakshayini Bhat. This play portrayed the importance of kind and fair treatment to animals.
<FONT …More
