mahesh dattanis play that was commissioned by the ngo recovering and healing from incest rahi and which dealt with child sex abuse says lillete dubey who produced and acted in the play the prime consideration is that a work should be great theatre but it becomes a more exciting and profound experience when its rooted in a very real issue we were treading a fine line between making a point and avoiding becoming a vehicle for a message we had so many survivors of incest come backstage after the play and share their feelings with us it was very rewarding to connect with a real audience instead of the usual polite noises and critics for others theatre remains a powerful tool for expression in real life rather than the proscenium says stephen hanmer who has conducted theatre workshops for children in kenya pakistan and the west bank and recently did the same for akanksha a city ngo working with slum children we did a workshop here with drama and games for children from the slums together with those from bombay international school sometimes slum children feel inhibited by limited education by using minimum language our theatre teaches them to master their emotions and express themselves it was a very empowering experience especially for the slum children suddenly the more privileged kids they looked up to all along were admiring them hanmer reflects children all over the world respond to the same basic emotions drama cuts across borders not only geographical but also cultural and class as you can see in mumbai this is also evident at vasishts workshop there is something indescribably moving about being in a roomful of rescued minor sex workers who have come from farflung placesbengal nepal tamil naduwho dont necessarily have a common language but unite to sing a gujarati folk song vasisht has taught them and at the end of the day when all the girls sit in a circle and chant om the extended hum resounds in your ears as it seems to connect all human beings with an invisible thread