Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

In performance Peter with the

The play, Peter brought to India this time was Portofino Ballade. Pro Helvetia tied up with Goethe Zentrum and put up three performances in the city- at different venues, for different audiences. The story is of Mr. Cuckoo (of a cuckoo clock), the father, who pops out every hour, on the hour, day in and day out. When the father decides he wants to ‘retire,’ he realises that his son doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps. The son is looking for a way to break free.

Peter sings and plays a double bass during his performances but it’s the double bass that’s the main prop. Almost magically, the back side of the large bass opens up to reveal the miniature interiors of a house. The upper part opens to shows the inside of Mr. Cuckoo and his son’s house, the second part has a miniature coffee machine, mini fridge and some storage space, while the lower part is allotted to a bathroom, complete with a commode that can be flushed, with Peter ensuring the right background music was on cue!

When the puppets are inside the double bass, they are minute, but when they are out of the instrument, in the real world or while on a trip to the resort town of Portofino in Italy, they’re larger in size. During the trip to Portofino, the father-son duo converse about the future, but eventually, the son realises that he has no way out and runs away, leaving the job of being the cuckoo to his father.

At Vidyararanya School where Peter had two performances, the children were so engrossed in the performance that they went up to him to thank him for showing them something different.

“Even in each city, the response from the children in different,” he said with satisfaction.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail