About Us

GILLO REPERTORY THEATRE

Gillo Repertory Theatre works in Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA), creating performing arts experiences that engage children and young adults with theatre in particular and the arts in general. It was started in 2009 with a wish to create contextual content especially for children in India.

Our work, that includes content development, performance and training, creates opportunities for children to develop deep and life-long connections with the arts. We focus on showcasing original Indian content, developing value for the performing arts, creating age-specific performances, training performers and making theatre more accessible to children.

Based in Mumbai, we regularly tour across India with performances, workshops and theatre based engagements.

Our repertory of adult artists stage a range of short and full length plays in several languages for children of different age groups. Since 2010 we have produced 20 plays, staged over 500 performances, conducted workshops and reached over 100000 children and young people across India.

Our plays include Suar Chala Space Ko (2010), Kyun-Kyun Ladki (2011), Hanuman Ki Ramayan (2012), Taoos Chaman Ki Myna (2013), Mister Jeejeebhoy and the Birds (2013), She-He-Shey (2013), A Silly Story of Bondapalli (2016), Chidiya, Udd! (2018), Captain Coconut (2019), among others.

Gillo also actively builds partnerships with organisations working with children, especially those involved in culture and the performing arts, such as schools and learning centres, literature and arts festivals, performing arts venues, community cultural organisations and other theatre groups. Such partnerships enable us to engage with new audiences, and when we have been able to sustain such partnerships, this has enabled us to nurture a theatre-going habit amongst children and their care-givers. As a result, we now have regular performances every year in cities such as Pune, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad. 

In 2017, we launched our most ambitious project, “Gillo On The Go”, a travelling theatre for children. Artists travel on a bus for 2 to 4 weeks from place to place (usually outside metro cities), performing for children, in their schools, near their homes and at places where they can reach easily.  We also conduct theatre based workshops for children and teachers. We have so far traveled across Karnataka in 2017 and 2018, and across Maharashtra in 2018 and 2019.

Gillo's first production for early years (children between 1 to 4 years), ‘Chidiya, Udd!’opened in 2018 as a result of a collaboration between La BaraccaTestoni Ragazzi (Italy) and ASSITEJ India. The play premiered at VISIONI 2018, the 14th edition of the International Festival of Theatre and Culture for Early Years, hosted by La Baracca in Bologna, Italy.

Gillo is a member of ASSITEJ India (the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People).

In December 2019, Gillo will complete 10 years of existence and work. We are delighted to have been part of the emerging and expanding field of Theatre for Young Audiences in India and we look forward to creating and contributing towards a body of work that enriches and enlivens children and young people all over the world.