Kids Know Best:
Shaili Sathyu and her Gillo Repertory Theatre work on theatre for children and young people. Not only does she have to find stories that would appeal to children, they also have to work with kids across the language, location and class spectrum, since her plays travel all over the country to villages and small towns, as well as cities (Gillo has toured extensively in Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and other parts of India). Budget constraints keep the staging simple but attractive, which actually encourages children to imagine and question.
Her latest play Rangchor, adapted by Preeti Aher from a story by Stephen Aitken and Sylvia Sikundar, (illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat, published by Tulika Books) has a carefully built in, but not overtly obvious message of inclusivity.
A boisterous group of children, and their dog (Rupesh Sangle) playing near a forest, has among them a visually impaired girl, Chimi (Jigna Khajuria), who does not let her blindness come in the way—she produces a jingling ball so that she can play hockey with the others. Her grandfather (Manoj Karki) makes clay toys, so she can work with her hands on making them. (Sathyu plans to have shows for visually impaired children, in which they will be able to play with the tactile medium of clay.)
Living on the outskirts of the village in a tattered tent (design by Abir Patwardhan), is a Rakshasi (Barkha Fatnani), who the children are afraid of and keep their distance. One day, when they have a run-in with her (could also be a ‘him’ in other shows), in a fit of pique, she steals all colour from their surroundings—Sathyu used colourful ribbons for this scene, as the Rakshasi rips them off panels standing in for flora, fauna and water.
Chimi, who experiences colour rather than see it, decides to confront the Rakshasi and get her to return the hues she has stolen. She finds that the creature they were all so afraid of, is not scary at all—she is lonely and needs their friendship, not their fear.
Shaili Sathyu has deliberately left out the origin and background of the Rakshas; in the shows she has in schools, the play is followed by a discussion and she wants children to be ask questions and come up with their own interpretations. The story was first adapted by Gillo in Marathi and staged for children at government and aided schools in Solapur district in November 2022. Their positive response led to a longer Hindi version.
With music by Mithila Lad Nayak and Sarfaraz Qureshi and choreography by Prachi Saathi and enthusiastic performances — Rupesh Sangle as Sheru was a kiddie favourite– Shaili Sathyu has once again created a play that talks to children, sparks their natural curiosity and also entertains them.
(This piece first appeared in mumbaitheatreguide.com)
