Written and Directed : Priyanka Kotwal and Barkha Fatnani Cast : Priyanka Kotwal and Barkha Fatnani
BADALON KE SAATH EK DIN AND NABIYA Review
It's a charming world of children's books, short innocuous stories and the staging of two stories out of it. Gillo Repertory Theatre wrests young children out of the screen-world and plunges them into this breezy, cool oasis of performing arts.
Two stories are narrated to a bunch of children with absolutely micro attention span and numbed sensibilities from social media exposure. The narrative begins with a flute recital, catching the attention and bringing the audience to the on goings onstage.
The first narrative is a story from Iran where young Houda (Priyanka) leads you to her little world, where she has to accomplish a whole lot of chores like tidying up her room and setting everything in order. But Houda is enchanted by the clouds hovering outside her window, she's waiting for the rains. Houda's mother is busy in the house, cooking and knitting. Growing impatient Houda asks her mother as to why it is still not raining, her mother says perhaps the clouds have forgotten how to rain! That's when her friend Saba joins her and they both urge the clouds to rain on them. And what happens next is magical indeed!
The entire story is a solo show by Priyanka where she scampers, runs, jumps and dances and prances all across the stage. It is amazing how spontaneously she gets the audience to participate – reciting the rain poem or answering her many queries. Simple, fluid and enchanting - that's how the story goes. Transporting the audience to the realm of clouds.
The second story narrated by Barkha is set in the narrow bylanes of Mumbai. It is about a school girl, Nabiya playing football in the gully with her best friend Ganju, then attending school - enjoying the lessons and enjoying the tiffin sharing even more. When her favourite teacher drops by on Eid and shares kheer with her, it is a huge moment of her life!
Nabiya is also a solo act, where the actor conjures up the rest of cast and builds the scenario effortlessly. During this story, Nabiya calls out for volunteers to come up and be a part of her story as they play a young girl meeting a bear, bhalu. The whole experience is immersive, not only for the children but also for the inner child in the accompanying grown-ups.
Music comprising flute, bells et al by the two actors played alternatively is commendable and so is the lighting and the fabulous snow drop pompoms!
Shaili Sathyu, the artistic director of Gillo Repertory Theatre is so welcoming and she keeps the ball rolling merrily. I am sure many of the young viewers trooped to the book store to grab their copies of these two books and more. A great unboxing of the world of books for the children!
Deepa Karmalkar
(A senior journalist, features writer and reviewer who is now an ardent yoga sadhak.)
BADALON KE SAATH EK DIN AND NABIYA Play Schedule(s)
