CHENNAI : Golden phizzwizard, trogglehumper, bunderbluss... For those familiar with Roald Dahl’s popular book, The Big Friendly Giant, these made-up words from the vocabulary of the giant evoke nostalgia. Boardwalkers, a city-based theatre company established in 1990, will be taking us back to our childhood days with their latest production on The Big Friendly Giant.
“It’s a fun play for kids. We train the children for three months and put up a big show at the end. This play will feature nine kids and 11 adults. The adults are seasoned actors and so are the kids, after the training period,” said Michael Muthu, director, thespian and founder of Boardwalkers, which was established to involve children in theatre at a young age.
Michael enjoys working with his young friends. He calls it a production with a blast. “There’s more to the play than the giant, king, queen, and a little orphan girl. The children were excited to do it with colourful puppets and funky props. It’s a strange story in a strange land where these children are trying to catch dreams in a dream country,” said Michael, who wants the children to experience everything in theatre, from rehearsal sessions and backstage moments to a cast party.
“Children have no baggage or ego, and they are extremely and supremely talented. They give the best efforts when we get on stage. My goal is to help them enjoy the craft of theatre. They need the right encouragement and support from the audience. The energy is different when we have a houseful audience,” said Michael.
His next production will be Lord of the Flies by famous author William Golding. The story revolves around the fate of 15 children who get stranded on a remote, deserted island when returning from a school trip with no adults in sight. “This is a serious piece of theatre. The audience will comprise high school kids and adults. The cast will be of kids between six to 10 years of age. It’s not a fairytale but a story for adults performed by children,” he said. It will be held in the middle of November.
The Big Friendly Giant will be staged on October 6 at Museum Theatre, Egmore from 7 pm. Tickets are available on Bookmyshow. For details, call: 9841248853