Ten-year-old Anaya Kapur's professional stage debut with Vishal Israni’s 'The Wizard of Oz'

'If you can dream it, You can do it’. This quote by Walt Disney, the man who created the world’s most famous cartoon characters, is something that entrepreneur Gaurav Kapour and wife Harrishma have instilled in their daughter.

Ten-year-old Anaya Kapur is all set to make her stage debut with Vishal Israni’s The Wizard of Oz that premieres this weekend at Sophia College. The young girl is an avid dancer, theatre enthusiast and an ace swimmer as well. Anaya is playing not one but four challenging albeit fun roles in the brand new version of the age-old classic directed by Vishaal Israani and Jiji Simon Subi. 

Talking about Anaya’s role, Vishal says, “It has been an absolute pleasure to see Anaya blossom into this confident young girl. She has been a part of Vishaal Asrani’s Institute of Performing Arts (VAIPA) since she was six years old and this will be her debut stage outing, where she plays four characters all in 75 minutes. The music is also all new and Bill Franceour, the celebrated Broadway composer, has scored the songs. I have seen Anaya shine like never before and it is a matter of great pride to witness all our students on stage. We believe that every child is a star, the world hasn’t discovered them yet!” 

Produced by VAIPA, the show promises to be a visual extravaganza with bespoke costumes, moving sets, LED backdrops, flying witches, hydraulic lifts and aerial acts. Established in 1992, VAIPA has been training students to appear for the exams (Speech and Drama, Communication Skills, ESOL, GESE and Performing Arts) conducted by The Trinity College, London. They believe in bringing quality theatre to audiences and have been doing that in the form of plays and Broadway-style musicals since 1994. 

When: 4.30 pm, September 14 and 15Where: Sophia Bhabha Auditorium, Breach Candy, Mumbai