I had
just come back after spending a week at my native town and as soon as came back
to Delhi, I saw in the newspaper a play being performed in the evening and
immediately booked the tickets. I wasn’t too sure though what to expect as I
had never seen any production by the team. I must say I had an amazing time and
have not laughed so hard in a long time.
The play is
adopted from one-act farce written by Peter Shaffer and was first performed in
1965. Farce are one of the best comedies or the worst if not executed well. Directors
Raghav Puri and Roopali Singhal have done a brilliant job in keeping the pace
of the story up, audiences in split throughout the play with charted out
characters and situations.
The name
of the play “Black Comedy” does not come from the theme. It does not poke fun
at a dead person. The title is a pun for the reverse lighting condition used in
the act. What is this reverse lighting
condition? The play is written to be staged under a reversed lighting scheme:
the play opens on a darkened stage. A few minutes into the show there is a short
circuit, and the stage is illuminated to reveal the characters in a
"blackout." On the few occasions when matches, lighters, or torches
are lit, the lights go dim.
Produced
by Old Cheese and The Chhota Haazri Theatre Company
the play is about the
chain of events that follow when Aditya and Naina, an engaged couple, invite a
millionaire to see Aditya’s artwork, and to impress him have stolen antiques
from a neighbor Jai Juneja. Naina’s formidable father, Colonel Sethi is also
expected. The lights fuse, and the arrival of several unexpected visitors
effectively wrecks the evening. What happens next is a rib tickling comedy
arising from dumbness of Naina, perpetual disdain of others by Colonel Sethi, confusion
and discomfort of Aditya to the entire situation, weirdness of Ms Catherine
Jacobs, bitchiness of Aditya’s ex-gf Samira and homo-cidal tendencies of Jai
Juneja . Throw in the short stint by the electrician and we have an hour of
pure clean comedy. It is hard to say what made the act so brilliant. Was it the
script, the direction, the perfectly timed acting or on stage props and
lighting? I think it’s a combination of all four. A brilliant stage performance
is held by four pillars – script, acting, direction and props. All four pillars
are equally strong in this one and even if one of them went weak, the play
would be weak and shaky. Kabeer Ahmed has brilliantly pulled off the role of Colonel
Sethi and sends the audience into a fit of laughter with his perfectly timed
one-liners. He loves and at the same time loathes his own daughter Naina played by very beautiful Vidushi Chadha who
plays the role of a typical beauty without brains to the tee. Tanvika Parlikar
as the over religious Ms Katherine Jacobs says very little but when she does
open her mouth it is at the most inappropriate times. Dhruv Sirohi buys some
sympathy for his character of Aditya Mehra though his own character is to blame
for all that goes wrong during the night. Vishnu Sinha gives an over the top
treatment to the gay character of Jai Juneja, the neighbor who has hots for
Aditya. Sakhi Upadhayay as Samira would make you think about your ex and how an
estranged ex can make a bad situation worse with just her mere presence.
It is a
must watch for everyone and kudos to the entire team for such a brilliant
performance. Looking forward to more productions from them.
Cast:
Dhruv Sirohi - Aditya Mehra
Vidushi Chadha - Naina
Tanvika Parlikar - Ms Katherine
Jacobs
Kabeer Ahmed - Colonel Sethi
Vishnu Sinha- Jai Juneja
Sakhi Upadhyaya - Samira
Rishan Dhamija- Mr. Tomer
Produced By:
Thank you so much for coming for the play as well as reviewing it. Every word of this comprehensive review has made our efforts worthwhile :)
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome Roopali. It was indeed an excellent production. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDelete