The newly-opened Manjari Theatre House, in Kumarigal, is currently staging Udki Mudki,  written and directed by Suresh Chand. The theatre house from Mokshada School is one of the few student-centric theatre houses in the Capital. The students are staging plays after having completed a theatre training course, informed the coordinator of Manjari, Suresh Chand.

Themes in Udki Mudki range from intimate topics concerning the daily lives of young school goers to larger matters of gender and social inequality. The opening scene of the play shows a cluster of street vendors taking over footpaths, making it difficult and dangerous for young students walking to school. The play then goes on to provide commentary on the discipline and punishment of young children. It puts forth the view that children are better disciplined when not scolded or physically punished, and tries to highlight the role of adults in providing proper instruction and guidance. Attendees described the play as both hilarious and at times deeply tragic. The same play features a story of a young girl, orphaned in the civil war, then sold to a brothel in Bombay, only to return home after contracting HIV/AIDS. Viewers had been taken aback by the fact that such painful and solemn matters had been propounded by preteen performers.

Coordinator Chand has promised to continue staging plays with the students of Mokshada and expressed hope for Kumarigal becoming a staple venue of Kathmandu’s theatre scene in the near future.

Udki Mudki will run through March 3.