Paradip, Oct. 11: Children left the audience spellbound with their performances at the second edition of theatre festival held at the port town recently.
"The festival has provided a good platform to the children to showcase their talent. Last year, the children's theatre festival had been held on an experimental basis. We decided to organise it this year as well as the fete had evoked positive response. A number of local schools evinced interest to take part in the event. We selected four schools on merit. The themes of the plays enacted in the festival were thought-provoking," said Atulya Kumar Mahapatra, president of Canmass, which espouses theatre movement.
The play, Tathapti Jibana, espoused the cause of prevention of cruelty towards pet animals. It was performed by children from Arabind Integral School, Paradip. Child artists portrayed the animal characters superbly. The play attempted to send across the message that animals are more loyal than humans. They need to be taken care of, said director of the play Jiban Prakash.
Mein Kyun Nahin staged by children from local Bethani Public School dwelt on the theme of female infanticide. The play showed the emotion of an expectant mother who was being forced by her spouse and in-laws to abort the girl child in the womb. The mother rejected the abortion bid and gave birth to the baby. The dialogue between the mother and the unborn child was the major highlight of the play, said secretary of Canmass Sriman Mishra.
"The festival has shown that there is abundance of talent in the children. They just need the right platform. Theatre for young audiences is yet to find its feet in Odisha. The need of the hour is to nurture the performers. The school managements also have an important role to play in harnessing the budding talents," said Mishra.
"Theatre is an effective tool in children's educational needs and overall personality development. Through contemporary issues of importance, portrayal of plays would imbibe character building of children," said district education officer Sangram Sahu.
