Bengaluru's BOAT theatre festival explores the theme of finding one's home

A children's theatre festival gives opportunity to school kids to showcase their talent
A still from rehearsals
A still from rehearsals

Eleven schools from across Bengaluru will participate in BOAT (Bangalore One Act Theatre) Festival 2018 that kick-starts today. This is the second edition of the festival that aims to engage teens in school with theatre. Anita Mithra, the festival director says, "The aim is to keep it simple so that children enjoy theatre and its processes instead of mugging up lines for the stage. We have selected short plays and have let these children add their creativity to make it more interesting."

The theme for this edition is 'Home' and some of the plays are based on folktales, while a few others are adapted from verse and the rest are original works. "A home could mean the planet, a person or a community and different schools have interpreted it in their own way," says Anita. All these are one-act plays and are about 15-minutes long. They are directed by theatre professional commissioned by the festival director. 

From the featured narratives, Starfish, a lyrical play tells the story of a starfish trying to find a home, Baba Yaga, a Russian version of Hansel and Gretel retells the classic story of children looking for their father - who is a metaphor for home for these children. In Yuuki and The Tsunami, Yuuki, a little boy discovers there's a tsunami approaching, so he wants to warn his village community - which is home to him. 

"Some of these plays are about seven to eight minutes long, but the children have added music and dance to extend them to 15 minutes," says Anita. The festival is also a competition with prizes to be won under the categories, Best Play, Best Performer - Male and Female, Best Props and Costume and Best Ensemble Group. 

Rs 300. October 26-28. At Alliance Francaise

ayeshatabassum@newindianexpress.com
@aishatax

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