Thrissur: When 15 differently abled youth stepped onto the stage at the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy Regional Theatre here on Friday evening, they did far more than perform an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant.

For the cast, the play 'Pookalam' marked months of emotional healing through theatre therapy and for the audience, filled with neurodivergent children cheering, dancing and shouting, it offered a rare, judgment-free space where art belongs to everyone.

The production is the result of a decades-long partnership between the theatre troupe Rangachethana and the Association for Mentally Handicapped Students (AMHA), based in Nedupuzha, Ambadikulam.

"Our troupe functions not just for plays, but to inculcate and uplift people from every corner of society," K V Ganesh, art director of the play, told Onmanorama. "In each play, we focus on identifying the individual talents of these students and incorporating them into the performance. For example, the boy who begins the show by playing drums is an added part cause he has learned the instrument and loves to perform it," he said.

The 15 cast members, Anil P S, Suril, Anil K, Nipun Balakrishnan, Gireesh, Kannan, Binoy, Manu, Akhosh Basu, Raji, Alice, Vandana, Swathi, Sajil, and Mannuel, are all AMHA students aged above 18 who spent five months preparing for the stage.

Dr Bhanumathy, head of AMHA, noted that the therapeutic process has transformed the participants' daily lives. "Their speech is improving, so is their communication with each other. They are more accepting of each other and open to coordination in social settings," she said.

AMHA currently houses around 60 students, 30 of whom live in its hostel. "Children who have been abandoned by their parents or whose parents have passed away, or those rescued from railway stations, all of them are enrolled at AMHA," Ganesh explained, noting that four of the actors in 'Pookalam' are orphans.

The collaboration originated during a workshop Ganesh conducted years ago. "Once I went to a juvenile home in Thrissur to conduct theatre workshops. The superintendent at the time asked whether I could include those children who are treated differently by others. AMHA and we collaborated to continue theatre camps and take these children into theatre as well," he said. "Some of these children have disturbed minds due to years of abuse they had to face. They sometimes see others as enemies due to what all they have been put through, and theatre helps them heal."

Malayalam film actor and theatre artist Sunil Sugatha, who shared the stage with the students in the role of the giant, said working alongside them was deeply invigorating. "They are full of energy, and it gives me immense joy to be able to work with them as an artist," Sugatha said.

For parents, the open environment was as meaningful as the performance itself. Pramod, whose son is enrolled at AMHA, described the play as an incredible opportunity for children who are otherwise sidelined by society for their behaviour, giving credit to Bhanumathy teacher for her leadership.

The troupe will next perform 'Pookalam' on October 2 for AMHA's anniversary celebrations in Karyattukara, followed by a showcase at a theatre festival in Pazhuvil.