Young actors to show Germans what it’s like to be a teen in Bengaluru

Teenage is a confusing time as is; add to the mix a world full of contradiction and things only get more muddled up. This is what 10 young theatre artistes from the city will show their German counterparts, when they stage The Big Bolly Boo Hoo at the National Theatre Mannheim, in Mannheim, Germany, between July 12 and 22. This is the first time that 10 young artistes from Bengaluru have been invited as a group to perform a play written and devised by them.And before they leave for Germany, the teens will stage two performances in Bengaluru — on July 7 and 8.
The teenagers are part of Kirtana Kumar Theatre Lab (Youth) that was invited by Germany’s Schnawwl Theatre, which had asked senior students to participate in a theatre festival for young audiences. This meant that apart from watching plays, they would also conduct workshops for German youth. The theatre then got back to them and asked Theatre Lab (Youth) to develop a concept and take the production there.
“The group got together and quickly decided that they wanted to do something that reflects their life in Bengaluru. While this was going on, there was a furor in the city over signs that lovers are not allowed in parks. That got the kids thinking about the contradictions in their lives. On one hand, they are exposed to a lot of things (such as love and sex) in films, but the opposite happens in real life. Even when it comes to how women dress in films as opposed to how they are expected to dress in real life. This duplicity is what they wanted to address in their play,” says Kirtana.
Seventeen-year-old Devi Sastry, who just finished Class 12 from Christ Jr College, is one of the actors who will be going to Germany. Speaking about the thought behind the concept of the play, she says, “We wanted to figure out what part of our lives we could share with them (the German youth). We have tried to describe our lives, everything that’s happened to us and what it’s like to live in Bengaluru at our age. We had to think about what that meant to us and come up with the writing and the movement to represent it. It was a collaborative effort and everyone gave inputs,” she says.

So, what can one expect to see in the play? “You can expect to see authentic and transparent performances. It is the story of young people in Bengaluru, and the audience will have a lot of fun since being young, the actors are very daring and play a lot with humour,” says Kirtana.
With just days to go for before they leave, Kirtana says that each actor has his/her own reasons to be excited about the trip. While some want to experience theatre in another country, there are others who want to chomp on good food and simply enjoy a break with friends.
Apart from staging their play and conducting a workshop, the actors will have an immersive theatre experience, wherein they will watch several plays, an opera and ballet performances. Apart from spending time with friends, this is also something that 16-year-old Siddhant Jain of Mallya Aditi International School is looking forward to. “I have been in Bengaluru my entire life, so I would like to see how theatre is in a different county. I think that theatre is performed differently in different parts of the world, and I want to learn how they perform, what they emphasize on and why. It will really open my mind as an actor, a person and writer,” he says.
Devi sums it up by saying, “We are emotionally invested in the play — it is our story. I am very excited for people to enjoy this piece of art.”