Sharjah24 : Cut paper into interesting characters, glue on clothes, paint on some features. Now give them a few dialogues, put a string through them and watch your story come to life in your very own box-shaped theatre!

At the 41st Sharjah International Book Fair, children, aged 7 and above, are learning how to tell delightful tales at a workshop aptly called ‘Stories in A Box’ led by Italian theatre company, Teatro Verde, as part of Italy’s Guest of Honour activities this year.

“The goal is to get children to do something physically with their hands and see what they have created with their imagination. This is a way to stimulate them to enjoy theatre and this could create adults who enjoy theatre,” says Veronica Olmi, General Manager, Teatro Verde.

Organisers of the 1-hour workshop give children an idea or suggestion and encourage them to come up with their own stories. And since creativity is language agnostic, children find ways to design their characters and boxes, experiencing for themselves that in theatre, everyone's a winner, because everyone’s story is different. 
 
“Many children create their own characters from their own imagination. They keep asking if they can take it home! We want them to. We hope they will continue to play with them at home and perhaps create more characters and stories in future,” Olmi adds.

SIBF 2022, a 12-day cultural extravaganza held under the theme ‘Spread the Word’, runs at Expo Centre Sharjah until November 13, 2022.