THE third edition of Kadhai Carnival will feature two of New Delhi-based Feisal Alkazi’s plays, featuring more than 350 kids from KC High School in the city. “In these two scripts, I have worked with children right from classes one to 10,” says the 62-year-old thespian and son of the influential theatre director Ebrahim Alkazi. Titled The Princess Who Became King and Face/Off, both plays deal with matters of social stigma and personal quests for identity.
The Princess Who Became King will be performed by students below class six, and Face/Off will have a cast from classes seven and above. “The fact that they are children adds a natural factor. As kids, we never emphasise uniformity, or anything in particular. This makes the play interesting,” explains the veteran director.
Freely adapted from an Indian tale, the script blends aspects of love, adventure and intrigue. It deals with Prince Ravi and Princess Parijata, who flee from their palaces on the eve of their wedding. The princess, during her escape, reaches the forest and is surrounded by animals. “The script focuses on gender issues, individual independence and the relation between man and animal.
The play also has some plastic humour and subtle messages of accepting who you really are,” offers Alkazi who, apart from being a theatre and television director, is also the author of popular books for children, such as The Danger Within: An Activity Book On Occupational Health Hazard, Naina’s Village, The Raindrop and Chilka Lake Adventure, among others. His theatre work, in fact, ties in with his pursuits as an educationist, counsellor, trainer and a costume designer.
On the other hand, Face/Off focuses on a cynical and temperamental teenager, who meets with a terrible accident and has to undergo plastic surgery. “As we get further into the play, it highlights how society treats a person who has an uncommon face because of a surgery. Towards the climax of the story, the boy finds out how some people have accepted and befriended him, whereas the others have just ignored him,” says Alkazi. In a nutshell, that’s ample reason for audiences to sit up and take notice.
On February 25 at
Chinmaya Heritage Hall.
Tickets from Rs250 onwards.
Details: 24473551