Good humour all the way

CHENNAI: A few years ago, Bollywood producer Sanjay Gupta had come up with an experimental film, Dus Kahaniyaan, which had 10 stories rolled into a movie. The film bombed, as none of the stories managed to have an impact on the audience. However, on Wednesday, at the Lady Andal School auditorium, six short plays – from American playwright Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor Series —  were rolled into a two-hour show  that struck a chord with the audience. Each play turned out to be better than the preceding one, with some impressive acting, sharp direction and crisp screenplay. Each play raised the bar for the one to follow next. The first play was about uncontrolled human frailties. How a simple sneeze by a lower-ranked officer in Russia onto an admiral, leaves the former in a confused state of mind. The officer is hell-bent on apologising for his “unpardonable” mistake. The comedy that ensues forms the crux of the story. The next play was probably the best of the lot, as some fine acting by the actors impressed all those present. It was about a headstrong mistress who tries to teach her quiet, timid new governess Julia a lesson by threatening to hold back a  major chunk of her salary. The mistress, who is supposed to pay 80 Roubles to Julia for two months of work, hands only 10 Roubles. The mistress does this to drive some sense into her governess but eventually ends up handing the full salary in the end. Julia accepts whatever she gets and acknowledges, “It’s possible to be a simple person like me.” This statement of hers earned her a thunderous applause from the audience. The third was about a person seducing another man's wife without even having spoken to her once. This was the subject of the next play – how a bachelor uses his married friend to seduce the latter’s wife, who is stuck in an unromantic and passion-less marriage. Would you pay to see someone get drowned? But don’t forget the name you need to call to rescue that person who’s committing this dare-devil act and who, unfortunately, does not know to swim! The ending of this play, rather unexpectedly, left everybody in splits, for the right reasons, though.Next, a solo-act deserved kudos for the artiste’s talents to pull off the role of a wannabe actress trying to score marks in an audition. The last play – the defenseless creature – was about a loud,  impatient woman who manages to draw out her monetary dues from a gout-ridden bank manager. This play was enjoyed by the audience, as the defenseless woman’s antics made the bank manager run for cover.Well, the next time, play director Michael Muthu stages a show in Chennai, mark it as a must-visit event in your calendar!