Children steal the show

MARION LIVES in Portsmouth with her pet poodle, Bubbles (Siddhi Japee). They go shopping to a mall where Tom (Ajay Rau), an unkind tramp, is also seen with his performing (under protest) chimpanzee, Ben (Raghuram Avula). So do many others who buy and sell stuff. Ill treated Ben breaks loose and runs away.

Meanwhile, Marion falls in love with Brian (Siddharth Choudhury) and ignores Bubbles. So Bubbles too runs away. She meets up with the chimp and there is much empathy. Bubbles helps Ben to get back to Africa. A reformed Marion treats Bubbles better. Well, and I guess there's general happiness all around.

Aysha Rau had scripted ``Oddbods'' during a play-writing workshop conducted by Mahesh Dattani and organised by the British Council. After fleshing it out with a few lyrics and setting it to music, Rau put it to good use to raise more funds for Little Theatre for their on-going projects with underprivileged children of Chennai. It was a summer pantomime of sorts.

It could not have been too much of a cakewalk for S. Krishnakumar who directed the play. A basketful of highly energised little people can be a challenge to the best of directors. In addition, the script was a little too skimpy to allow creativity. Nevertheless, the energy the young cast brought to the show was remarkable as was their singing and dancing (choreographed by Jeffrey Vardon).

Avula's chimp was exceptionally well done and he endeared himself to the audience after initially scaring away the `little' of the audience. Siddhi's poodle was quite a pretty little lady who danced most charmingly. Another part well done and with confidence and stage presence was Rohini Rau's Marion. She also impressed with her good singing voice and some good dancing, particularly the short tap dance, which brought the curtain down. Another enticing little part most charmingly done was Nivedita Ravi's shop assistant.

The costumes by Megan Utley were perfect as usual, particularly that of the silken white poodle. The stage, designed by Mithran Devanesan, had a ramp running across the stage, three-fourths of the way, evoking a wharf in the last scene. The space below was divided into little shops of the mall. The Devanesan touch lay beyond, in the massive backdrop, a golden orange sky with its little cotton clouds, backlit into clear life. One tried to wish away the ramp that stood between the sky and you.

However, the ramp was very useful for the puppet show. While the poodle and the chimp stepped their farewell dance on the wharf, Devanesan had a whole sea of the most adorable of fish, squids and octopus puppets on poles, dancing their joy. They were so good that they distracted the action downstage. Other bewitching beauties were the gigantic African plants in bold, wild colours.

Anil Srinivasan's original score played live enchanted. The cast did him justice in their singing. What really drew attention to his keyboard was the rich and easy voice of Sunitha Choudhury. Her singing flowed through the night stirring you into yearning for more.

While the average age of the children in the cast ranged from nine to fourteen, the audience ranged between grandparents and newborn babies. There was enjoyment and particular excitement in response to the chimp scene adapted from Jungle Book. There were also exceptions. A determined little child with a charming scowl stopped by to say that she was still waiting for Maria. ``I like only Sound of Music'', which she watches everyday.

ELIZABETH ROY

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Section  : Entertainment
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