Don’t miss Tom, Dick and Harry

Celebrated playwright Ray Cooney, sometimes referred to as the master of farce, teamed up with his son Michael Cooney to pen roughly two hours of non-stop comedy- Tom Dick and Harry. The comedy takes the boards of the Lionel Wendt Theatre from May 30 to June 1.

The setting: the Kerwood household. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Kerwood do their best to make a good impression. Unfortunately, good impressions are not what their devilish brothers have planned.

In all fairness to Dick and Harry, they were only trying to help, but such good intentions never resulted in such a disastrous turn of events. Chaos reigns as Dick and Harry- the devilish duo do all in their power to make the best out of a bad situation. A corpse is hauled into the living room, thrown out, brought in again, illicit alcohol is smuggled into the house by the crate, and to make things worse, a drunken Sri Lankan immigrant recuperates under a sofa.

Sounds familiar? If you watched it last time around, it should. The crazy trio are back again, to thrill their audience with their crazy antics. Tom Dick and Harry, a Silent Hands Production directed by Jehan Bastians and Neidra Williams, will take the stage once again, with its cast of flawed but lovable characters who had their audience in fits of laughter not too long ago.

There are a few modifications to the performance this time, but in essence, it is the same hillarious comedy written by Ray and Michael Cooney. “Tom Dick and Harry is one of Cooney’s funniest comedies,” says Jehan Bastians, adding that the original script had been changed in places- with the inclusion of two Sri Lankan immigrants as opposed to two immigrants from Kosovo.

The show on May 30, will be presented by the Methodist College Class of ’90, and proceeds from the show will go towards the school’s vehicle fund. The idea of sponsoring a vehicle for the purpose of transporting schoolgirls for various extra-curricular activities, arose when a group of loyal old girls decided to do something for their alma mater and all proceeds from the show will go to this effort.

The young cast that gave a great performance the previous time are back again, with Niren Neydorff, Gehan Blok and Anush De Costa playing the roles of the three brothers Tom, Dick and Harry. The supporting cast includes Neidra Williams, Charith De Silva, Miranga Ariyaratne, Shashini Wakwella, Sulochana Perera and Javin Thomas.

“Working with such a young cast was both a daunting and enjoyable experience,” recalls Neidra, enthusiastic that the connection between the members of the cast- both on stage and off, lends a great deal to the performance. “Most of the cast are fairly in sync with the characters they have to portray so acting out their parts comes quite naturally to them.”

Tickets for the show on the 30th are available at the Methodist College Office from 7.30 am to 2.30 pm (call 0786386868 for details). Tickets for the other two days will be available at the Lionel Wendt.