A couple of Saturdays back, I watched a live theatrical performance of The Bobbles: A Musical for Children and let me tell you, I had a great time!

Mimi, Jojo, Hammy and Rollo are four Bobbles living in Bobbletown. Mimi, with the red bow, is always on the go. Jojo, in blue and a tool belt, loves to build things. Dapper is in green suspenders, Hammy is a scientist, while the wise old owl Rollo is a ray of sunshine in his bright yellow tie.

The play starts with a question: how to spend the day? The weather is excellent, so the four go to the beach with sandwiches and sunglasses. There, they meet Mrs Dolphin, who loves to laugh, but something is worrying her. The sea in which she lives is filling up with garbage that people carelessly throw into it, and she’s scared for all the creatures who live in the increasingly polluted waters.

The Bobbles are concerned, too, so they clean the beach as best as they can. Jojo throws her hands up in despair — there’s so much litter, how can they possibly make a difference? But Hammy assures her that every little bit matters.

Throughout the day, the Bobbles sing many songs. My favourite was Pick it Up, Put it in the Bin, that explains why we must keep our environment clean.

Everyone knows it’s cool to be clean, but I still see educated and aware people throwing rubbish on the ground. It makes me so angry. It would be great if all kids learned this super catchy song so that when grown-ups, irresponsibly toss a chocolate wrapper on the road, you can ask them to “pick it up, put it in the bin”.

We learn many more fun things from the Bobbles and the songs they sing. For example, the difference between the ocean and the sea, how to deal with emotions, the benefits of exercise and how the moon works.

The best thing about the play The Bobbles is that it is localised entertainment we can relate to. For instance, we have the beach in Karachi and it is very polluted, and we also have dolphins in our seas. When it’s time to go home, the four friends hop aboard a snazzy disco rickshaw which is, without any doubt, the slickest ride ever!

Nida Butt, creator of The Bobbles, has done tonnes of theatre plays for grown-ups. Wanting to make something for kids, she wrote the script with Hamza Lodhi. The songs are composed by Hamza Jafri. The Bobbles are played by Momina Yasir Qadri (Mimi), Ayra Bukhari (Jojo), Zeerak Khan (Hammy) and Hasan-ul-Haq (Rollo).

The 45-minute show is performed at MAD (Music, Art, Dance) School on Zamzama Boulevard in Karachi and is on-going — that means it can be watched all year round. For timings and ticket prices, please check out MAD School’s social media.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 20th, 2022