In an attempt to brighten up the lives of such children, UK-based The Wind-Up Penguin Theatre Company has been creating musical theatre from scratch and have been taking this to underprivileged children in hospitals, orphanages, rural schools, and special needs centres in developing countries around the world.
Founded in April 2012, the group consists of students and alumni from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and RADA, London and was founded by Ioana Macovei-Vlasceanu and Elisabeth Swedlund who previously worked with underprivileged children in London and desired to take this live art to kids everywhere.
The team began their journey when they headed over to Romania in December that year for a magical music show and since then there has been no looking back. They have taken their theatre performances to countries all over the world like Colombia, Brazil, Peru, India, Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, and Belgium.
"We're a team of people with big dreams and big visions. After coming back from our first project, we knew that we wanted to do a lot more of this work, as the experience had been so incredible for all those who were involved. It's like I was looking for a purpose alongside my ‘traditional' classical singing degree, for which the job market is very much stalling, and I'd finally found what I wanted to artistically devote my efforts to," discloses Swedlund. The company now consists of over 60 people and they try and make projects available to as many music and drama students as possible so as to enable them to perform out of their comfort zone, to collaborate with different performers and use their skills in an altruistic way.
Of course there have been a few challenges along the way. "There's a lot of getting lost in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of an unknown country, going to a performance for people with whom we've only communicated with a little but it always ends up very well though, and we meet lovely people along the way who help us," states Swedlund, adding that of late they have been doing quite a few street performances where the children aren't told that there's a performance at all. "It's up to us to communicate, as usual without words, that there's going to be a show, that it's going to be fun and all should watch, and that everyone should participate but sit down (and not run up and grab our instruments). This all falls down to having a show and material which is gripping and suitable for children," says Swedlund. Taking their performances to hospitals are a bit more difficult as permissions are a little harder to obtain. "We usually perform our show in a communal space, and then travel from ward to ward to play a little music to children who can't move to the show. Of course, we can't go into all the wards, but we do try to bring a smile to as many children as we can," says Swedlund, adding that the effects of performing to children who are visibly suffering are very humbling. "Each member has a different way of dealing with witnessing this - personally, I have been known to let it all out and cry more than once!" she admits.
But along the way, they have had a lot of memorable experiences. "We spent one week in the Brazilian jungle performing three shows a day, alongside a very enthusiastic guide, Aurimar Araujo, wearing fur costumes (we were monsters) in the boiling heat. We got the children to laugh and take part in the show every single time, including when we performed to a school hall for over 600 people," recalls Swedlund. At their recent performance with refugee children in Greece last week, the group was delighted to find that the kids remembered their performance and songs from their previous project back in April.
Post their Greece project, the group is now all set to perform in Goa on July 31 at Caritas Conference Hall, St. Inez in collaboration with Goa-based Child's Play India Foundation. This will be their second time here in Goa. "Last year in Goa, our Penguin team met Luis Dias and got to know his inspiring music organisation, Child's Play, where children from disadvantaged areas of Goa learn musical instruments. We also organised many performances with Caritas and El Shaddai - it was a busy but very thrilling week," says Swedlund, who is excited for their new show. "We very much value the strength of our current contacts, in India and around Europe's refugee centres, and we are thinking of sending yearly Penguin teams to these places," she adds.
(The Wind-Up Penguin Theatre Company is all set to perform on July 31, 6 pm at Caritas Conference Hall, St. Inez)
