Bangalore Little Theatre (BLT) is coming out with its new production ‘The Ungrateful Man’ at the end of their this year’s SPOT (Summer Project On Theatre). Since almost 1979, BLT has been organising SPOT which boasts an alumni of almost 60 – 70 per cent of Bangalore’s theatre circles. But this year’s production is something special, says Vijay Padaki, director of the play and honorary president of the Academy of Theatre Arts.

“This year, the play requires a huge cast, so we have many of cast and crew from our previous productions. So it’s like a SPOT alumni meet,” he says. But there’s something more that’s special about this production — proceeds of the shows will go to aid the Dream a Dream Foundation, an NGO that works for  empowering children from vulnerable backgrounds.

Technically speaking, the play is not a new one as its  40th anniversary is being celebrated now. Written by David Horsburgh, educationalist and author who was once part of BLT himself, the play is based on a tale from the Panchatantra. It  has had three productions, the first being in 1967 and has been translated in Hindi and Kannada. It  focuses on showing how animals are more reliable and trustworthy compared to humans. The extravagant play has a 30-member cast, music and lots  of  colour.  It is  also a tribute to Horsburgh.

It has been fun for the old and especially the new students of SPOT. Says Vijaylakshmi Chari, assistant director who was part of SPOT this year, “This year’s batch was a lot of fun. All of us came from different backgrounds and we loved being introduced to theatre. I’m primarily handling the children  and that has been a great experience, especially considering they are easier to handle than the adults! (laughs)”.

The play is focused at families, primarily children, and is on from August 21 to 26 at Ranga Shankara. There are matinee shows at 3.30 pm for school children only. The  7.30 pm shows are open to public and these tickets are priced at Rs 100. They are available at Supermarket-Brigade Road, KC Das on St Mark’s Road, Hippocampus in Koramangala, Calypso at Jayanagar,  Dream a Dream at Adugodi and the venue.