REMOTE and PURVAIYAA, presented at the children's theatre festival Connections, were very distinct in setting, style, tone and storyline.
The first play, REMOTE, written by Stef Smith and directed by Amey Mehta was performed by the students of Aditya Birla World Academy. Antler, a young girl, wakes up one morning and decides that she does not want to be part of this world anymore. She is tired of the apathy people show to suffering and war, hunger and climate change, of no one caring enough to act. She cannot think of a solution herself, so she smashes her phone, goes to the neighborhood park and climbs up a tree. Cutting off from the world, it is her protest, she says, because she can't decide on what else she can do.
There are her boyfriend Oil and her sister Crystal looking for her, there's Des, a lone boy looking for his lost glove and a gang of bullies -- Blister, Skin, Fin and others - looking to pass time. A group of teenagers in that phase of life when so much is changing - their bodies, their perspectives, their understanding of the world - all at a time when the world itself is plunged into more turmoil than usual.
Modern devices like mobile phones seem almost like an anachronism in this story that is so reminiscent of the disenchanted American youth of the 50s and of movies like Rebel Without a Cause or The Outsiders. The bullies, with their Greaser gang lingo, an underexplored queer love arc and characters with names like Oil, Blister and Skin only add to this vintage atmosphere.
And yet, the story feels timely, perhaps because there are so many parallels between the post-war 50s and changes in society post the pandemic - the hurt we have all felt and the collective need to heal. And the play does just that. It reassures, and tells us there will still be a new day tomorrow.
The young actors are all wonderful, their dialogue delivery full of emotion, even little comedic exchanges on-point. So, when in the end, after a day of searching, they all end up in the tree looking at the sunset with smiles on their faces, you can't help but smile along.
The second play PURVAIYAA, has been directed and adapted by Sapan Saran from the original play THE SWEETNESS OF A STING, written by Chinoyerem Odimba. The play performed by students of Teach for India in Bhojpuri, Hindi and English, tells the story of a young girl whose parents decide to shift from Mumbai, where she has lived all her life, back to Bihar, where they are originally from.
Baani's parents want to go back to their roots, but Baani feels like she is being uprooted from a life she has known all her life to a culture that feels foreign despite being her own. In frustration and anger, she walks off and falls asleep in a corner somewhere. In her dreams, she is visited by spiders, ants and ladybirds, but there's a twist -- they all speak Bhojpuri or Hindi!
Baani's dream world is colorful, confusing and chaotic -- she is like Alice, lost in her very own Bhojpuri wonderland. All insects have differing personalities -- the spiders with their love for games and Bhojpuri, the martial ants intent on protecting their king and the vain, mean ladybirds enamored with Baani's proficiency in English. The difference in these species is brought out beautifully with the use of tangly white webs for the spiders, red velvet bibs for the ladybirds and silver spears for the ants, all worn on a long black costume.
Despite their differences, though, all insects have a common problem: they are stuck in this dream world and are looking for a way to get out, just like Baani. The king who presides over them all, insists there's only one cost of their freedom: that they must forgo their differences and together devise a song that tells Baani the story of her forefathers and the land of her origin.
Do the insects unite and does Baani fully understand the beautiful history of her homeland? There's an obvious answer there. But what is more important is the utter joy and enthusiasm that these young actors perform with. The song and dance routines supported by a guitar player off stage feel like mini carnivals and the loud applause at the end feels well deserved.
*Neha Shende is an avid theatre-goer and enjoys watching old Bollywood movies in her free time.
