A Twisted Tale of Beauty and the Beast play comes to Bandra

Fairytales can be problematic, says director Nishil Kamalan. "While many of these stories have been a rage for decades, they often reiterate sexist ideas that children unconsciously absorb." Kamalan, who recently staged a political satire The Great Indian Circus, as well as a children's play, Procrastination, which was enacted by 22 kids, hopes to address this issue, in his adaptation of The Beauty and the Beast.

Called A Twisted Tale of Beauty and the Beast, the play, which has been written by Reynold D'Sa, will see Kamalan visit the timeless children's classic, but in a contemporary setting. In D'Sa comedy, Beauty (Akansha Bharadwaj) is captured by the Beast (Kartik Subramaniam) at a castle in Bandra. And, unlike the crockery that made for amusing characters in the original Disney cartoon, Beast has a few interesting slaves other than Beauty - like a mobile phone that talks and dances, a clock that tick-tocks to any tune, a panda who doesn't do anything and a clown, who plays witch. The play also has lots of song and dance sequences, including a small surprise, where Kamalan hopes the audience will participate too.

"The idea is to also educate kids about values. So, through the side characters, we hope they'll learn to respect time and not procrastinate, and also not become slaves to technology," says Kamalan, who is also a drama teacher and actor.

The premise of the play, which is open to kids four years and over, and their parents, is also different from the cartoon. Here, the Beast is a funny man, who dances, but never in rhythm. The clown casts a spell, where he will only turn into a man when he learns to dance in sync. "Again here, we wanted to break away from the common notion that beasts are dangerous. We hope kids look at these characters differently and learn the right lessons," he adds.

When: 12 pm
Where: The Cuckoo Club, 5AA Pali Hill, Bandra West
Entry: Rs 299
To book: in.bookmyshow.com