A kitchen full of silly superheroes, with pots, pans and whisks in tow — sure sounds like a recipe for chaos and madness. Here, there are no rules. If you are underwater one minute, you will be part of the underworld the next. In a race against time, they are on a quest for otherworldly ingredients.
At the newly renovated Museum Theatre , the busy kitchen is slowly coming to life. One can spot funny-looking fish, the occasional dragon, and a group of chefs with bright red clown noses floating in the distance as the stage gets ready to host the 13th edition of The Little Festival, an international theatre festival for children. This year, apart from the chefs and their antics in a home production titled The Kooks, the city will also see a Korean puppet production, A Tree and A Boy.
Both plays are non verbal, and cater to young audiences with the aim of stretching their powers of imagination. This has been a running theme for The Little Theatre. Krishnakumar Balasubramanian (KK), artistic director, and creator of The Kooks says one of the easiest ways to tackle the perceived barrier of language in theatre is by using human physicality. This rings even more true when children are the audience.
“I have always been hugely inspired by anything that is physical when it comes to comedy. So we wanted to set this in an unusual setting. We also wanted it to reflect the idea of ‘coming together’ and what other than food brings people together? That’s how the marriage of a kitchen and physical humour happened,” says KK.
Cast and crew of The Kooks | Photo Credit: Abishek Thangamani
This year, the show is being directed by Santhosh Kumar. The play derives from the techniques of clowning and slapstick humour and leaves room for improvisation, in every iteration. “The script is two pages long, but the show is 1 hour and 15 minutes long! Every second counts. Every take on stage is different,” says Santhosh.
A very minimal script and strong characters that are defined by the actors, is the key here. Solving, and in the same breath, creating problems are the characters’ forte. “Just like every recipe needs certain ingredients to come out well, the characters realise that they need to come together for the magic to happen,” describes Santhosh. KK adds, “In an era where children’s imagination is being stunted by a very linear system of education and their dependency on gadgets, we want to remind them that the potential for imagination is boundless. That’s what the kitchen stands for.”
There’s nothing else like puppetry that prods the scope for imagination in a child. South Korea’s theBEFU theatre’s A Tree and A Boy conceptualised in 1992 is a journey in imagery and sounds, and a masterclass on traditional Korean puppetry. Here, the lives of a boy and a tree are juxtaposed through the seasons; from spring to winter, and spring again.
From A Tree and A Boy | Photo Credit: special arrangement
Director Lee says, “The show is a story about life that everyone can relate to. The cycle of birth, growing up, loving, failing, dying, is a very natural and beautiful one. The magic of existence.” Apart from the wooden puppets that are moved by the actors, shadow puppets too appear when the tragedy of the protagonist unfolds, says Lee. She points to a specific scene where the children from the neighbourhood join the boy for a game - “though seemingly simple, it is very different from India, and will likely be a lesson on cultural experience [for Indian audiences].” Lee says that there are more surprises in the store for the Chennai audiences (cue: music).
Children are at the centre of both these experiences. And they sure are a tough audience to satisfy. Concludes KK, “Sometimes, they ask for some characters to remain on stage for longer. They want to connect with them. This time, we have made sure that happens.”
The Kooks will be performed on July 5,6 and 8 at 11am, and July 7 at 4pm. A Tree and a Boy will be held on July 9 and 10 at 11am. Passes are priced at ₹400 at explara.com.
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