Child’s play: Firt Baby Theatre Festival to be held in Mumbai

Over the last few years, theatre for babies has evolved in countries like Northern Ireland, Australia, United Kingdom and Italy. In India, it has seen an exponential growth with theatre groups in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Kolkata staging plays for young audiences. In fact, in April this year, Shaili Sathyu, founder of Mumbai-based Gillo Repertory Theatre, which works extensively for children and young adults, staged its non-verbal play, Chidiya, Udd!, exclusively for kids below five years, in the city. 

To celebrate such productions and introduce tiny tots to the arts, the first Baby Theatre Festival is being held in Mumbai by Tram Arts Trust, Harkat Studios and Extensions Arts. Held at Harkat Studios, Versova, on every Sunday this month, four plays from Mumbai and one from Delhi, which are made especially for kids between six months to six years, are being staged.

What’s in store

The performances, which last for about 25-30 minutes, involve various theatre practitioners engaging with the children by using clay, plastic, wool or water, prompting them to explore them through sound and touch. So in Plasticity by New Delhi-based Tadpole Repertory, two performers use pet bottles, poly bags and plastic sheets and create changing worlds of shape-shifting wonder. In Warp & Weft, a child is upto some much mischief at a fabric store. 

Likewise, in Clay Play, kids are encouraged to create leaves and twigs through terracotta clay, using their imagination while in Oool (a take-off on wool) they are regaled with stories about the versatile material along with music and movement. “In fact, all the actors were chilled out, and so in sync with each other that we shot major scenes in half a day. Salman sir and Anil (Kapoor) sir used to come, discuss the scene and we would shoot. Action scenes, which were supposed to be tough, were filmed easily, thanks to the star cast,” he says.

Karan Talwar, co-founder of Harkat Studios, says, “The plays made for babies are meant to be sensorially engaging, they are aesthetic and artistic. There is no expectation for them to need to grasp anything (in this case a narrative). 

Babies are not capable of cognitive activity following a linear narrative. Therefore, the plays are not designed as such. However, they are engaged and experience it in as many ways as they can, from laughter, wonderment to interaction with material on stage and with a curious gaze.”

An experience of a different kind

But are the tiny tots really able to understand what is happening on stage especially since they are so young? Choiti Ghosh, Director, Tram Arts Trust who will perform Oool, says, “Like any other art-based form, baby theatre allows for an aesthetic and emotionally immersive experience. Again for babies, this experience is not the one they are cognisant of, but the brain develops at a dynamic way in early years. Science now tells us that exposure to such things increases brain activity and in the long run, one can only imagine this affecting imagination, curiosity, creative thinking and empathy among others.”

This kind of engagement with kids below six years of age is called as early years theatre that relies mainly on non-verbal communication and uses daily objects in the performances. Sananda Mukhopadhyaya, Extensions Arts explains, “Each age group of children has their own requirements, sensibilities and ethos. Baby theatre opens up a new landscape of audience for us in India and it opens up a dialogue with both — children and adults. For us, there is a long way to go, to create our own context and vocabulary for such a niche form. In the West, the form has seen decades of development. However, for us, this is new but exciting, and we’re sure that there is space for the same.”

Spreading the word

The organisers are happy with the kind of response they have received till now and are hoping that it will find takers among schools. Michaela Talwar, co-founder of Harkat Studios states, “The opening show ran to more than a full house. We had people on waiting lists. It’s clear that parents and babies are starving for deep, enriching engagements with theatre arts. There is a lacuna in this area that needs to be filled. The plays are ready, accessible and easily portable. There is no reason why us or anyone else cannot host them regularly anytime, anywhere. We are encouraging schools, people with slightly large drawing rooms and venues to stage these plays through this festival. There is definitely an audience ready.”