Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
Stringing beyond age boundaries
|
A puppeteer who aims to cross boundaries finds it more challenging to perform for children, writes RENUKA VIJAY KUMAR
|
Photo: Renuka Vijay Kumar
Theatrical duo Peter Rinderknecht with his daughter Ronja
Portofino-Ballade, a play on a puppeteer, by a puppeteer is not just for children. This is something Peter is very clear at the outset. Peter Rinderknecht, a puppeteer, theatre person and former school teacher found himself leaning towards theatre when he was teaching school children almost 30 years ago in Zurich. “Then I studied theatre and can’t think of doing anything else now,” he says.
To promote Swiss talent in India, Pro Helvetia, the Swiss arts council has invited Swiss theatre personality Peter Rinderknecht to tour the country with his Theatre Ballad- Portofino Ballade. His beautiful 21-year-old daughter Ronja is accompanying him on his trip across the country. He grins a big ‘proud papa’ grin and says, “She get’s her beauty from her mother. But Ronja helps me with the stage sometimes,” he says, and this helps her make some extra money as well. But usually Peter performs alone. All the help he gets-from musicians, theatre specialists and puppet makers are all on a freelance basis.
While performing his play Portofino-Ballade across India, Peter found that performing for his primary audience- children, is most challenging. “With children I get an instant reaction. If they don’t like it, they start mumbling or lose interest. If I’m not performing well and I’m with children, I’ll know it instantly. Adults sit grimly and won’t say a word. So in that sense as well, it’s very rewarding to be able to perform for children.”
He also goes on to say that children all over the world make for a different audience, so in India, he’s performing for an older age group. But Peter is very clear about his stage specifics and even though he’s looking at youngsters, his performances are always indoors. “These puppets are 11 inches tall and along with the story telling, I play a double bass. If I perform at the playground, the children may lose interest. I don’t want the trees to be more interesting than me.”
His plays are clearly for ‘above 7 years only,’ ‘because any younger and they won’t understand. The plays are fun and interesting, but are complex to understand as well.
It’s true, with his animated talk and gestures, you can see that Peter believes not only in getting into the skin of a character, but also relating to the audience. His plays are simply for anybody with the heart of a child.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
