Summer festival brings gripping & dramatic plays aimed at youngsters

Pune: Summer vacations may be the best time for children and young adults to discover a genre of theatre that turns the focus on their own obstacles. With this thought at heart, the Maharashtra Cultural Centre (MCC) has organised a 13-day theatre festival focusing on the GRIPS genre at Jyotsna Bhole Sabhagruha from May 5.
The GRIPS genre of theatre originated in Germany.The plays highlight issues faced by children and young adults and are designed in such a manner as to appeal to a wider audience.
“Adults play the characters as the plays have a certain comment to make about the society. If a child is seen saying something, adults may dismiss it thinking the kid is blabbering. But when the same is said by an adult, the audience knows there is a certain thinking process involved in what is being said and so it captures the adult attention,” said writer-director Vibhawari Deshpande, who has penned five plays that will be staged at the festival.
The festival will stage some of MCC’s popular GRIPS plays such as Ekda Kai Zala, Tu Dost Mahya and Project Aditi. Child artists from Rangabhoomi, a Belgavi-based group will perform a play called Sangeet Sharadha. The GRIPS play named Piyuchi Diary will premiere at the festival. Based on a book written by Sangeeta Barve, the play, unlike others, will feature eight child artists along with two adult performers.