In 25 years of their existence, city-based theatre group, Masquerade, has come to be known for their more serious productions — like the recent Greek tragedy Antigone on World Theatre Day or Houdunnit, a trio of thrillers they staged in February. They are also no stranger to stories for a young audience, and as part of their anniversary celebrations, are reviving The Bear and Beanbag Children’s Theatre segment with Total Moonsense.

The hour-long play, to be staged today at CurioPlay, is an adaptation of James Thurber’s classic short story, Many Moons. Scripted by S Krishna Kumar (KK), artistic director of Masquerade, the play is Shrivatz Agaram’s début directorial venture. After Janosch - The Tiger and Bear Tales in June 2017, the group took a break from children’s theatre to focus on their mainstream work, occasionally conducting workshops for tweens and teens in this period.

A tale of tantrums

In the story, Princess Lenore falls sick, and claims that the only thing that would cure her is if the moon were brought to her. The King turns to the wisest men of his court for solutions to this impossible task. Unsatisfied with their replies, he confides in his court jester, who ultimately finds a way to fulfil the princess’ wish. The cast includes Abhishek Ramabhadran, Aravind S, Ashvi KS, Pranav Diwakar, Priyanka Sankaran, Shubh Mukherjee, Utsav Raj, and Varsha Varadarajan, as well as KK and the director.

While it sounds like a simple enough premise, it’s meant for ages eight and above. “For younger children, a lot of it might go over their heads. We’ve got elements of slapstick, satire and allusion, which will work for the adults as well. We wanted to focus on making it fun and family-friendly,” explains KK.

The characters too, are in situations that are relatable in a contemporary way. For example, one of the central themes is communication. So we get to explore, why did the princess really want the moon? Did anyone try finding out? The venue, Curioplay, with its limited seating capacity facilitates the “intimate and interactive” elements of the play — so if you’re in the audience, you never know when the spotlight turns on you.

Masquerade presents Total Moonsense, today, with shows at 5 pm and 7 pm, at CurioPlay, Alwarpet. Tickets at ₹200 on townscript.com. 9884029850