Little drummer boy
The Drum is an Indian musical adventure with dancing, drums and a sitar. Lead actor, Rajan Thangavelu shared his experience of the folktale and of children's theatre with Resli Buchel.
Teaching children about overcoming the disappointment of not getting what they want
What is your role in The Drum? I play the boy. He is nameless. He's a boy who really has a desire to drum, but his mother cannot afford one. But, by being generous, he eventually gets what he wants.
So, it's a kind of morality play? Yes. The boy eventually gets his drum by helping someone who's in need. This is a huge Indian idea and, of course, The Drum is based on an Indian folk tale. The disappointment in [kids] today is huge when they don't always get what they want. The Drum teaches them that there is another way to be.
Have you worked in children's theatre before? No, this is the first time. [Acting for kids] is really quite a challenging and specific style of acting. It's very gestural, full of action, facial expressions, extended limbs. The words must be kept very simple. Plus, kids are the hardest [audience] to please.
Is this a challenging role for you? Well, the boy is actually only nine-years-old, so I really have to work on the language he uses. It's a little surprising how difficult it can be to keep the language simple. Each scene is improvised and I have to always think, 'how would a nine-year-old speak to people, interact with people'. You have to go back and think, 'when I was that age, what did I do?'.
What's the best thing about The Drum? It has a lot of music and dance, and a lot of colour. I get to interact with the kids... [the boy] invites them into his journey. There are also live musicians on stage and the whole thing comes to a close with a big celebration. I even get to play the drum at the end. It's almost like a big Indian wedding.
See Babies Proms: The Drum at the Sydney Opera House from Wednesday 23 to Sunday 27 April. Visit www.sydneyoperahouse.com for bookings or more information.