To watch a stage play has been long been on my to do list. Fulfilled it by seeing the play doubt yesterday evening. When I saw the ad for this play in 'The Hindu' I decided I would go for it, since I had already seen the movie and could relate to the play easily. I got my 'movie buff' younger bro for company. He also has never seen a play and was eager to.
I could not recognize the names of the 4 lead actors, as I was new to the theatre scenario. But I could identify P.C.Ramakrishna as I had seen him in TV and few movies. The performance of the lead actors were fantastic. Especially P.C.Ramakrishna and Indrani Krishnaier, who played Father Thomas and Sister Aloysius respectively. Indrani Krishnaier's body language was amazing. By researching a little bit in net afterwords, I found that these people were veteran actors in Chennai's theatre world. P.C.Ramakrishna aptly deserves the title 'The Voice Of Chennai'. The play ran for one hour and 45 minutes and we were totally engrossed the whole time. The dialogues were sharp and witty.
I was watching with interest, how the back stage crew changed the sets with minimal disturbance in between the acts. And how the actors managed when there was a power cut during the play. All in all it was a very satisfying experience and I would like to watch plays like this if I get a chance.
P.S. An observation - the majority of the audience belonged to elite upper class. My brother could identify some theater personalities who were starting to make their foray into movies. I guess the middle class people have their own pastimes such as watching TV and going to the movies :)
4 comments:
Hi,
I had read the original english version of the play - where the mother of the boy hints that the boy could be "ga",and so, the pastor is not entirely to blame.
I felt that, this story would not be a fit in indian ambience.
Did this indian version had the mother character say the same thing?or was this different in this indian version of the play, while maintaining the essence of the original version?
Regards
@my previous comment -
correction:
boy could be "ga"::i meant - boy could be "gay"
Hi Venkat,
Welcome to my blog.Yes, the indian version is similar to the original version.The mother didn't spelt out loud that her boy could be gay, but says that his nature is different."Some boys are like that.You can't change that" She also mentions that the boy gets regular beatings from his father due to his nature.
Hi Hema,
Thanks for the reply. In this regard, it looks like the scenario of the play is alien to madras setup.
As for your observations in the post, english theatre seems to be an elitist sphere in Madras,unlike in Bombay,etc. Some people have been working towards popularizing english theatre by writing plays with themes that empathize with today's generation(working in english environment with private lives in tanglish environment).
There are several actors/writers who treat theatre as an entity in itself and contribute for its growth with their creativity. There are a few,who view theatre primarily as a means to enter movie industry.
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