The King and the Little Man: the workshop

Anubha Fatehpuria started workshopping with a bunch of high school students, adapting K. G. Subramanyan’s children’s story ‘The King and the Little Man’ for the stage. Eventually, the most enthusiastic youth, a group of five (three from Patha Bhavan School, and two from St. Xavier’s Collegiate School), were part of the intensive workshop that led to the performance at the Kolkata Police Auditorium at Bodyguard Lines, Alipore.

The focus, however, was on the process of putting the play up. The story, originally in English, was translated into Hindi. Scenes were added. Music was introduced. Bits of comic relief were thrown in. The artist’s images were projected on colourful cloth in the backdrop as the young actors performed around it. The language was a challenge for all the participants of the workshop because none of them were Hindi-speaking. But rigorous practice did the trick. Within a week, the youth—complete amateurs so far—were ready to perform the play for an audience.