City’s theatre group, ‘The Little Theatre’, has been raising the bar for children’s play with their performances across the world.
Started 25 years ago, their main intention was to engage children in activities and gradually expose them to the world of theatre. The group started conducting fund-raising programs to support education scholarships, street theatre productions, and theatre workshops for 200 underprivileged children in Chennai.
Aysha Rau, the brainchild behind Little Theatre, started the group on a very small scale to encourage creativity in children as well as boost their self-confidence and level of thinking. Soon, it became a part of her life. “I have been a curator for the shows for the past 25 years. This theatre group has helped provide a platform for aspiring actors and also honed their skills in improvisation, singing, and miming,” says Aysha Rau, Managing Trustee and Founder.
The stage is all set now for The Little Theatre Festival, which is reportedly the first International theatre festival in Chennai for a young audience. “Theatre groups from South Korea and Germany will be a part of this fest along with two home productions of Little Theatre,” says Aysha.
The two home productions will be The Garage Gang and Two Teeth Button Nose. The former play involves a group of wacky mechanics that have been given an ultimatum by their boss. They must fix their clients’ vehicles within an hour, or else be fired. As they gear up to finish the task, they come across some strange circumstances that form the rest of the plot. The latter play is about a precious treasure in the clown world that is responsible for all happiness in the world, which will be stolen by an evil giant that lives up in the clouds. The story revolves around the journey of the brave clowns to retrieve back the stolen treasures.
“The Little Festival will serve to be a small world stage for countries to strengthen ties with the youth of India. It is an amazing tool for forging bonds through performing arts. I believe it is a great way to promote peace, understanding and empathy in an otherwise intolerant world,” says Aysha on a concluding note.
(The Little Festival will be held from July 7 to 16 at Museum Theatre, Egmore)
