Peppa Pig’s Adventure, brought to you by BookMyShow Live, arrives in Kolkata on May 31 and June 1 at Science City auditorium, with three shows on each day. t2 caught up with Meherzad Patel, the director of the stage production, to know more.

What can the audience expect from Peppa Pig’s Adventure? What has the response in terms of ticket sales been in Kolkata so far?

What the audience can expect is pretty much what it has got throughout the first season or even when you are watching it on TV... which is pure entertainment, for both kids and parents. In a show like this, only 50 per cent of the audience is children because every child comes with one parent at least, or two, and what we have noticed is that parents enjoy it as much as the kids do. Kids enjoy the puppetry, the glow in the dark UV scene and the songs, while parents enjoy the entire production value — sets, lights, music, puppet handlers.... they look at the mascots and, of course, the children will believe that it is Daddy Pig right there whereas the parent knows: ‘Okay there is someone inside there.’ But for that split second, you forget that and that is what makes it so lovable for the entire family.

The ticket sales have been surprisingly great because with the war situation, it was quite dicey as to whether people will step out. But the never-say-die attitude of our country has allowed everyone to bounce back.

What makes Peppa Pig such a phenomenon?

The advantage of animation is that the characters don’t age. When I watched Powerpuff Girls as a kid and when my child watches it today, they are still the tiny little ones that they were. It is not like Stranger Things where from Season 1 to Season 5, the characters have become older.

Peppa still remains in the same grade, and so does George, her brother. The characters don’t become older. Interestingly, the voiceover artistes have got older. But the cartoon continues. The classic nature, the formula can remain the same... of teaching a lesson about friendship, about love. These are universal concepts that transcend centuries.

What are the challenges and creative highs of bringing the animated world to life on stage?

When you play a character from an animated show, you need to be the character. So even though they are holding puppets, they cannot behave like handlers. You need to be as expressive as the cartoon character would be. Also, you need to see the childlike nature of these characters and bring them to life. Try to ape them, try to be as fidgety, as jumpy, as excited....

The challenge is always to bring the 2D into a 3D or a 4D world. What you see on screen is flat... it is 2D with both of Peppa’s eyes on one side. But the minute you move to a stage performance, you can’t have both of Peppa’s eyes on one side. That will look creepy... you have to have the eyes one on each side, like a normal pig would. But how do you bring that to life on stage without it looking funny? That is the kind of training we make the actors go through.

The highs for such a show is the audience response, especially when children genuinely believe: ‘Oh that is Peppa, oh that is Daddy Pig.’ That means you have achieved the goal of trying to convince them that this is very much real. Also, the minute you see people’s phones coming out to take videos and photos, you know that they are trying to capture a memory that you have created. That is a lovely feeling.

What has the feedback to the production been like so far?

The feedback has been lovely to the point where the only complaints we get is that: ‘Why did you start on time?!’ That is a complaint I will happily take every day. As a production house, as a show in India, we need that discipline. Also, it is heartening to see people travelling from other cities to watch the show.

We have a meet-and-greet after the show where children are dying to meet Peppa. You realise that it is not just the children, it is the parents who also love that moment . Also while 99 per cent of our audience has come in watching the cartoon, there is that one percent who is now watching the cartoon because of our show.

Tickets are available on bookmyshow.com