It is always heartening to see children and adolescents filling up the Calcutta stage. Some of the city-centric theatre groups — supported by government endowments — run children’s wings that culminate in an annual show or a festival of sorts. There are others that take it up as a mission to give the kids a stage. Durgadas Smrity Sangha, established in 1945 (outdating Bohurupee, the group theatre pioneer, by three years), has teamed up with Shilpi Sangha (Howrah) to stage their latest productions in the city auditoriums. Both offerings were directed by Kingsuk Bandyopadhyay, the unsung hero of the children’s theatre movement in the city. This reviewer caught the action at the Academy of Fine Arts.

Khelaghar, the Durgadas Smrity Sangha production, is driven by a dream. A young couple decide to move out of their comfort zone and set up a school for underprivileged children in one of the impoverished regions of the western part of West Bengal. Khelaghar, which translates to playschool, experiments with joyful learning and ends up teaching the children key notions like child rights and labour rights in an area where they are exploited as labourers. Such efforts eventually stir up a hornet’s nest, leading to violent acts. The struggle, however, lives on. With directorial support from Soumita Banerjee, the production succeeds in bringing out fine performances from teenagers. The football sequence was particularly well-executed.

Shilpi Sangha (Howrah) projected Kathamalar Deshe (picture) as a play inspired by Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, prompting me to take my seven-year-old twins to the theatre. However, the production, scripted by Swapnajoy Ganguly, uses the classic text as an inspiration in order to question it. Thus the viability of the beast fables is probed and Kathamalar Deshe turns out to be a complicated affair, redeemed by colourful costumes and surprise twists. The actors put in their best efforts, responding to the musicality of the production. However, my sevenyear-olds sat flummoxed all through the play, occasionally nudging me with ‘What’s happening’ looks in their eyes. They missed the simpler moral fabric of Kathamala and Hitopadesha that they enjoy.