The Hindu : New Delhi News : Novel ways of presenting plays

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Novel ways of presenting plays

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Delhiites left intrigued by isolated images of Europe on TV are about to get insights into European life from the interactive performances of a German theatre company.

Flying Fish, a company reputed for its unorthodox cast, is composed of - in addition to the expected actors and musicians - dancers, designers and a puppeteer. Going beyond the traditional concerns of a theatre group to entertain an audience, the company also aims to inculcate a taste for puppetry, dance, music, acrobatics and juggling among children in the audience through interactive sessions.

The company's unorthodox membership and sense of social development are matched by its out-of-the-box approach to performance. Kicking off their South Asian tour in August, the troupe will perform at a variety of venues, including markets, community centres and schools. They will also perform at theatres.

Doing away with the traditional approach of planning a production and then performing it, Flying Fish will fuse, mix and integrate the local art forms that they encounter during the tour into their repertoire.

These scenes, ideas and flavours that they will collect from this part of the world will serve as the basis of a play which is to be created by the group's Director, Harry Fuhrmann, and serve to educate Europeans about Indian life.

Fuhrmann notes that there is much that is Indian that is applicable to Europe. "It is interesting to note how traditional and modern values affect each other and what effect this has on a culturally diverse continent,'' says the Director.

If modern means are able to innovate, intermingle and adapt to change, then there is indeed much that Flying Fish can take back to a Europe considered modern from India, a country considered traditional, but able to mix and match the old and the new in new and novel ways.

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