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‘Producing’ childhood: The making of childhood and children in theatre

The performance of child roles and childhood on stage requires specific skills and resources. It also depends upon certain acting strategies and training. This article explores productions for children by theatre companies in India, analysing the meaning of these performance abilities, strategies and their relation to chronological age, experience and actors’ appearances. It shows how the conceptualisation of childhood and its ontological status can benefit from theatre as a locus of inquiry in which only adults can professionally perform childhood.