Hyd hosts first global kids’ theatre fest

HYDERABAD: Children from Hyderabad schools shared the stage with theatre groups from Japan, Nepal, Kerala, Kolkata and Bhopal this week as part of the first-ever three-day International Children’s Theatre Festival, organised by the Telangana department of Language and Culture in collaboration with Nishumbita School of Drama. Open to both private and government schools, the festival was inaugurated on Monday at Ravindra Bharathi and will continue till April 9.

The festival features about 20 plays — six each day — including mime acts, shadow puppetry and multilingual folk dramas. Monday’s performances included a team from Japan and five schools from Hyderabad, which included a government school, an international school and one by team Nishumbita.

This is a one-of-a-kind event, said Dr Mamidi Harikrishna, director of the department of language and culture. “We’ve supported theatre through workshops, production grants and festivals, but this time, we wanted to go global and involve children. Introducing theatrical values at a young age builds confidence, empathy and collaborative thinking. It teaches respect for differences and responsible citizenship.”

Most Hyderabad school plays were directed by Dr Ram Holagundi, founder of Nishumbita, who has over three decades of theatre experience. His team trained students from 12 government and private schools over three months, largely on a voluntary basis. “We’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” said Holagundi, recalling how his team — Devika Das, Agnika Ettavoni, Sriram Balaji, Mukesh Sai and others — reached out to schools across the city. “Some schools had to drop out due to exams, but we went ahead with the final 12.”

The Day 1 performances explored themes like environmental protection, peer pressure, loneliness, disability and digital dependence. The opening play, Marpoo Ravali by students from Government Primary School, Shyamlal, focused on children urging their parents to conserve water and adopt sustainable habits. “We liked the first play best,” said Sahasra, a student. “It had a really good message, though we could only hear the audio since we were backstage getting our makeup done.”

Sahasra played a mother duck in Ayyo Paapam Kuyyo Murro, a play that used animal metaphors to explore parental pressure and the importance of following one’s passion. “It’s something many children face,” she said. Manvith, from Tatva High School, who has acted in over 11 productions, played a fox. “This was the best experience I’ve had,” he said. “We skipped exams to perform here. It felt worth it.”

Among the international entries was Lunar/One Day, a non-verbal Japanese shadow puppet piece directed by Erina Saji. “We really enjoyed performing in Hyderabad,” she said. “We could see that the children in the audience imagined everything. Next time, we’d love to collaborate with Indian teams,” she shared.