BENGALURU: Set in a land of mythical creatures, 85 children in the musical, between the ages of 6 and 16 will present C S Lewis’ The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe in the city.
This musical was first commissioned for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and after much persistence, The Bangalore School of Speech and Drama were given permission to perform this in India. “This series was at its peak about 8-10 years ago, and we are tremendously excited to revisit Narnia with fans of the books, “ says director Zulfia Shaikh.
She adds that the production aims to introduce the story to an audience that may not have been part of the phenomenon when the books were published. Zulfia is a CS Lewis fan and admires his style of storytelling. “Through the peculiarities of the inhabitants of Narnia, we find parallels to the harsh reality of today. He has created a story that has endured the test of time,” she says.Rehearsals are a joyous event with the children, confesses Zulfia. “I am blessed to have such an amazing and committed group of young children to work with,” she adds. She has seen new friendships being forged, and characters being built, through the rehearsals.
Audiences can expect to fully feel the grandeur of the professor’s mansion, the cramped quarters of the Beaver’s house, and the frigid landscape of the frozen Narnia, says Zulfia.”Without giving much away, I can safely say that the set is such that it is designed to provide a completely immersive theatre experience,” she adds.
The music is composed by Shawn Davies. “However, we were only given the sheet music,” says Zulfia. The music was finally played and recorded by students of the maestro A R Rahman. Songs range from heart wrenching ballads, to upbeat foot tappers, she adds. “The highlight of the show however, is an original song written by Hasnain Shaikh and composed by Riddhi Bhatt, two of our students,” says Zulfia.
In terms of choreography, there’s a lot of influence from the styles of jazz and Broadway, and some contemporary dance movements, because for choreographer Samyukta Manogaran, these felt most appropriate and honest to the story the team wanted to tell. “Some of the movements even came from the kids themselves in the form of suggestions or them doing some random, crazy movement which I picked up and refined a little so as to be dance-y,” says Samyukta.
The thing with children is that it can never be just easy or just tough, says the choreographer. “ It’s a roller coaster ride! These kids attend school and still have the energy to make it to rehearsal,” says Samyukta. Somedays, it was a little harder to motivate them, but most days, they were ready to hit the dance floor and give it their all, which made my job a lot easier, she adds. “With the younger kids, attention span is the main hurdle, so for them the approach is to make everything interesting and engaging. With older kids, the process was very collaborative,” she says.
Catch the chornicles
Catch the Indian debuts of the stage performance of the massively popular The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe.
Where: Chowdiah Memorial Hall
When: July 7,8