A still from Peppa Pig
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

During the rehearsals of the live stage show, Peppa Pig’s Adventure, its director Meherzad Patel says the performing artistes were often asked to reflect and come back the next day with a monologue as their stage character. “I tell performers that if they don’t believe it, the audience won’t buy it. You need to believe you are Peppa Pig, Pedro Pony or Suzy Sheep and get under the skin of the character,” he explains. 

It is this sort of immersive world that he hopes to bring onstage for the new season of Peppa Pig’s Adventure, a theatrical production starring the character Peppa and all her friends in the British preschool animated television series. The seven-city tour begins with shows in Mumbai from September 21, and has been produced by BookMyShow Live, the live entertainment experiential division of BookMyShow, licensed from leading toy and game company, Hasbro, Inc., and presented by Kotak White Credit Card. 

This is the third season of Peppa Pig stage shows in India — over the last two seasons, the production travelled to nearly 11 cities and staged over 80 shows. The new season — featuring a new storyline as well as a new team of artistes — has Peppa, her brother George, Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig, Suzy Sheep, Pedro Pony, Gerald Giraffe and other characters set off on a camping trip, and chronicles their adventurous journey. 

Meherzad says it was important to take into consideration not just the children who will be attending the shows in droves, but their parents as well, who comprise around fifty percent of the audience. “While children are excited to delve into the world of their favourite characters, parents are looking for professional quality onstage, be it the performers, sets, or music. We are working on putting together a production of international standards that promises loads of fun for everyone,” he says. 

While the previous seasons had mascots, performers, this year has puppets. “We received instructional resources on how to handle puppets, since there is an intricate mechanism involved. While the show features songs that feature in the cartoons, it has been modified and adapted to stage — with a lot more interaction and singing along,” Meherzad explains. At one hour and fifteen minutes, the show will have songs, dances, interactive dialogues, and games. 

While the first phase will see shows being staged in Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi over the next two months, a schedule for the other cities, which includes Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad, will be announced. 

For Peppa’s biggest fans, it is time to experience the joy of singing along and jumping in some muddy puddles.  

Tickets priced starting ₹650 are available on bookmyshow.