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.
We celebrated Children's Day with a performance of SUAR CHALA SPACE KO for children from St.Jude's Child Care Centre ( http://www.stjudechild.org/ ) on 14th Nov 2010 at PL Deshpande Mini Theatre, Mumbai. It was a special day for all GILLO people as we felt blessed to be given this chance to bring some cheer in the lives of so many special children. But we were also nervous about how the children and their parents will interpret the parts in the play where illness, hospital, doctors etc are shown. But all our nervous feelings vanished when at the end of the performance the children and parents shared their happiness with us.
There were about 40 children in the audience who are all being treated for cancer and we hope that they will recover soon and go back to their homes and continue with their schooling and normal life.
St. Jude's centre is doing some amazing work and we wish them the very best!
Shaili Sathyu opened the first production with her newly formed group Suar Chala Space Ko at the HornimanCircleGardens... kids sat back and enjoyed the play. It was a simple production, which made good use of available resources, to create a spaceship through shadow play and an alien planet with a large swathe of red cloth and choreography. The plot about two kids and their pets who make a quick trip into space with strange consequences, is rather slim, the costumes of the animals and the aliens are kept simple the production shows what can be done with a low budget and loads of imagination. Kids in the audience, have to suspend disbelief (you can’t, for instance, go Mars and back in a few hours), and just enjoy the experience.
..... script is tight and compact. It is filled with interesting ideas and twists and turns which hold the audience for the most part. The playwright has created some interesting characters in the form of the chirpy mausi, the whacky doctors, and the multi-lingual aliens. The light tone and humor of the play helps to set the mood and the pace.
.....The play is written in a way that its success heavily depends on the visual design. And the director has done a good job of creating the necessary illusion to support the script. The play's most important device is the design of the space ship. The director plays with shadows throughout the space ship scenes thus enthralling and fascinating its audience.
.....The play entertains and fascinates the children. They also connect well with the characters and the central idea of this play. It creates the desired impact on its audience often inspiring awe and making them laugh.
A play in Hindi for all above 5 years 1 hr 15 min (no interval)
Based on a concept by Poorna, Isha and Ankita Writer & Director - Shaili Sathyu Music Concept – Mithila Lad & Hetal Varia Music Arrangement – Rahul Saxena & Kaushik Deshpande Choreography – Pooja Pant Set & Props Design – Abir Patwardhan & Tanya Mahajan Costume Design – Shama Zaidi Graphic Design – Phagun Dhaka Musicians – Paras Nath (Flute), Somu Sheel (Guitar), Shruti Bhave (Violin) Recordist – Aroop De (J J Studio)
Cast – Vighnesh Sinkar, Subodh Surve, Sharvari Deshpande, Aakash Dube, Siddharth Jhaveri, Navyata Malkani, John Soans, Hetal Varia, Mithila Lad, Abir Patwardhan, Vicky Arora About the play A hilarious play about a smelly pig who travels to outer space!! Actors play a variety of characters, including aliens, with movement and dance adding to the high-energy performance. This production is based on a puppet play originally written by children during a workshop and we have tried to keep the simplicity of their writing intact. The story touches upon friendship, adventure, owning up to your mistakes, taking responsibility and of course the ‘swine flu’!
About the Group
GILLO, established in 2009, is an independent children's media group based in Mumbai. Our area of work spans from education to the arts and media. Our theatre wing shall produce plays specially written and designed for children, with a focus on indigenous content and the Indian context. We also plan to start drama clubs; conduct theatre workshops and training for children, teachers and parents; and organise other activities that engage children with the theatre arts. Our first venture under the theatre wing is a Hindi play titled Suar Chala Space Ko which premieres in May 2010.
Premiere Shows Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai (Tickets Rs.150/-) Tue 18th May at 4pm & 7pm Sat 12th June at 11am Sun 13th June at 11am
Horniman Circle Garden, Mumbai (Tickets Rs.50/-) Sun 16th May at 7pm
