The Arts

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Dance elements add spark to familiar story

By: Alison Mayes

Posted: 02/12/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Indian immigrant's tale will appeal to young audiences.

Anjali's family is moving from India to Canada, but she's nervous. She's heard that it's a frigid place where everybody wears ice skates -- even to bed.

Once the girl starts going to elementary school in this foreign country, she has to cope with being made fun of, feeling left out, and being mortified that her lunch includes chapatis instead of a white-bread sandwich.

Theatre Review

Beneath the Banyan Tree
Manitoba Theatre for Young People
Tonight at 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday at 1 and 4 p.m.
Tickets $13.60 at 942-8898
3-1/2 stars out of five

Her loving but stodgy grandma thinks wearing a bindi (red dot) on her forehead makes Anjali beautiful. But it just makes the conflicted girl feel less like a "normal" kid.

In Beneath the Banyan Tree, an Indian dance-infused show at Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Toronto playwright Emil Sher (best known for Hana's Suitcase) explores the same ground as countless other immigrant-identity stories: How can a newcomer stay proudly rooted in her cultural heritage while branching confidently into life as a Canadian?

It may not be original, but it's a positive, charmingly presented story with tremendous value for school audiences, particularly ages eight to 12. More than 23,000 kids will see it as MTYP tours the four-actor production, directed by Lynda Hill, throughout Manitoba.

Families can catch the 50-minute show this weekend at the Canwest Performing Arts Centre at The Forks.

A wide-branching banyan tree dominates the effective set. Maitri, the wise Indian spirit of the tree, watches over and guides Anjali as she struggles to adjust. He tells her that the fables of the Panchatantra, which she treasured as a little girl, will always be part of her, and that her own story is uniquely hers.

The characters from the fables -- a peacock, elephant and monkey -- come to life in gorgeous, vivid costumes and just-right choreography. But the tales themselves are ultra-simple and come off as blandly moralizing, presumably because the juice has been abridged out of them.

The school scenes also have a sanitized quality, with a bully who isn't really very threatening and a shortage of solid, kid-delighting laughs. Overall, the show feels timid and conventional compared with MTYP's recent Chinese-flavoured triumph The Forbidden Phoenix.

Still, the dance aspect of Beneath the Banyan Tree, choreographed by Toronto bharatanatyam artist Lata Pada, strikes an ideal balance between traditional and playful contemporary movement.

The script makes some smart observations that stereotyping can go both ways, with the Indian grandma complaining that Canadians "think we ride on elephants," but also alleging that Canadians eat "Timbits all day long."

All four actor/dancers are strong, with Winnipeg's Tom Keenan a standout as a spunky schoolboy and the cavorting, cheeky monkey.

Pigtailed Toronto cutie Sharmila Dey is so fresh and genuine as Anjali, she dances away with your heart.

alison.mayes@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 12, 2010 D5

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