A story encompassing talking birds, genies, a kidnapped princess and an evil adversary, the adaptation of Haroun and the Sea of Stories by CATCO for Kids and Columbus School for Girls is currently rocking the stage. Held at the Agnes Jeffrey Shedd Theatre at CSG, catch this adventurous story until Sunday, May 12.
The plot centers around a young boy named Haroun who is traveling to different cities and realities to restore his father’s lost gift for storytelling – aka restore the poisoned source of the Sea of Stories. A heart-warming tale of father-son bonds and a cautionary allegorical fable for adults, Haroun and the Sea of Stories is “a feast for the eyes, ears, mind and soul”.
Tickets are sold at the Agnes Jeffery Shedd Theater at CSG or online. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children. Show times will be held on Fridays, May 10 at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 11 at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 12 at 2:30 p.m.
Real-life Drama and Inspiration
Published by Salman Rushdie, one of the best-known contemporary writers of post-colonial fiction in modern British Literature, Haroun and the Sea of Stories acts as a fascinating bedtime story and is a calculated rebuttal against Rushdie’s critics.
Treading a fine line between controversial and eye-opening, Rushdie’s adult novels concern overt literary themes and lessons about the current situation at the time. One of the largest controversies comes from his 1988 novel, The Satanic Verses, which closely examined Islamic religion and resulted in outrage by many Islamic fundamentalists including Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. But Haroun and the Sea of Stories is the only child-specific story by Rushdie and is a counter-argument against Khomeini’s attempts to silence Rushdie.
Presented as an engaging work of children’s fiction, Haroun and the Sea of Stories takes several themes from popular fables and stories such as The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, Gulliver's Travels, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Each story gives readers a lesson and a moral to the story. In the case of Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Rushdie emphasizes the importance of familiar bonds, freedom of speech, creativity and inspiration.
Marissa Smithinsky is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
