Arts
Let’s escape to a different place and time
The couples face-off and on the cover Michelle Hills Senanayake and a dancing ensemble
When the curtain opens on the Hotel du Paradis it is to the rhythm of the first of many bouncy musical numbers complete with a swaying, pirouetting ensemble and plenty of jazz hands.
In less than a week, the cast of Divorce Me Darling will take their audiences beyond the stage of the Bishop’s College Auditorium, to a different era, place and feeling.
A joint production between the Past Pupils Association of Bishop’s College and the Old Boys Association of S. Thomas’ College, the musical is directed by Thushara Hettihamu and produced by Nafeesa Amiruddeen and Jith Peiris. Well versed in staging period dramas, the two schools are very much in their comfort zone with this musical set in the 1930s.
A sequel to Sandy Wilson’s comedy musical The Boyfriend, the play fast-forwards ten years after the curtain closes on the girls of Madame Dubonnet’s finishing school in Nice.
When we meet them again for the first time after their respective marriages, we find them at the Hotel du Paradis having conveniently deserted their husbands.
What makes the play special is the ensemble of characters, says director Hetti explaining why they selected the lesser known script.
Ooh la la! Mevantha Christopher and Shanuki de Alwis
With more than 12 different couples of different ages and predicaments there’s never a dull moment in the convoluted web of storylines, explains Kavindi Wijesekera, who plays one of the “naughty wives”.
Also interesting is the diversity of the couples- from the older Brockhursts to the three deserted husbands who quickly recover from their plight to go gallivanting, and the caricatured French hoteliers straight out of BBC’s “Allo Allo”. The equally diverse cast is a mixed bag of seasoned actors, singers and new young faces to the theatre scene.
Making their debut on the big stage was not the first thought for Sandharu Ferdinando, Oshanthaka Cabraal and Mevantha Christopher.
The three ex-choristers confess that they missed acting and singing since they left school a few years ago.
Having performed in school plays and musicals, they are channelling their inner Fred Astaire with the slides and cane twirls of the play’s heavily stylised choreography.
Playing Gaston, the French manager of the Hotel has become second nature to Mevantha who’s got his R’s rolling and his accent down to a pat, as he demonstrates for us while stroking an impressive moustache.
Joining him as the other half of his French duo is Hortense played by Shanuki De Alwis. A familiar name on local playbills she wowed audiences with her very recent performance in Les Miserables, which incidentally required a voluptuous French accent.
Song and dance: The sailor boys and girls
Together the charismatic pair provides Hetti with one of his favourite scenes in the musical. “I love these kinds of movies,” Shanuki says, the appeal of the play she feels, shifting more to older audiences. But, she notes, “a lot of new stars are coming out”.
Playing one of the meatier roles is newcomer to musical theatre Suranthaka Cabraal. Having sung with the STC choir, this marks the first time he’s getting on stage post-College.
But he’s taking the expectations and the pressure quite calmly, sprawled in a corner of the rehearsal quietly going through his lines with a scarf flipped over his shoulder.
Playing the smooth talking American Bobby Van Husen is almost natural for him, he admits candidly. The period drama’s nuances and style are what drew him in the first place, as someone who finds himself constantly picking up fedoras and scarves. He only hopes the audiences will love the style of the 30’s musical as much as he does.
Seasoned actor Krishan Jayaratnam is back on stage after almost 15 years. Period theatre is nothing new to Krishan who has performed in productions such as West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet.
The play is more a chance for him to do something for his school. Having been a part of previous BC-STC productions such as Oklahoma! and South Pacific, the best part for him was the bond and the friendships that grow with each production.
Wearing (more than) two hats in the show is music director Dmitri Gunatilake who’s also taking on the role of Polly Brockhurst.
Juggling her own singing while handling the show’s music, Dmitri has to channel her inner hopeless romantic for the role. The script is not as well known as its predecessor, giving them very few guidelines to work with, but on the flipside makes it that much more intriguing to watch. All that matters to her at the curtain call is that people leave having had a good time.
In step: Dmitri Gunatilake and Suranthaka Cabraal. Pix by Amila Gamage
Swasha Malalasekera agrees. Colombo last saw Swasha in Feroze Kamardeen’s Widows. Although she did a little bit of singing in Romeo and Juliet (also by Feroze), this is her first musical. She personally prefers the darker, intense plays she’s used to but doesn’t mind the chance to break out in her tap shoes.
Although the musical is a chance for classic movie lovers to go back to a time of swing, jazz and good old-fashioned romance, it isn’t two hours of tra la la-ing and laughs. Playing one of the piece’s more complex characters is Michelle Hills Senanayake (seen on our cover).
Her take on Madame Dubonnet adds an element of mystery to the plot and allows her to go through a range of emotions and facades.
Michelle found her niche in musical theatre while in school, including the still talked about joint production of South Pacific with STC back in 1994. On leaving school she went further into opera, including a performance in Verdi’s La Traviata.
Despite the musical’s evident playfulness, there’s a fine dusting of melancholy and yearning meshed between the catchy songs and overall happy-go-lucky setting, explains Hetti, who usually prefers darker, gritty plays.
His favourite number “Light!Music” is almost a clash of the dizzy high of theatre and the bleak reality behind the need for pretence. But for the Director, it’s all part of the life of the masochistic artist. Nevertheless he doesn’t want his audiences to leave contemplating the frailty of existence or whatnot. “It’s feel good escapism,” he sums it up. “It’s about the glory of life.”
The Past Pupils Association of Bishop’s College and the Old Boys Association of S. Thomas’ College present – ‘Divorce Me, Darling!’ by Sandy Wilson on March 18, 19 and 20 at the Bishop’s College Auditorium. Tickets priced at Rs. 3000, 2000, 1500, 1000 and 750 are available at the Bishop’s College Auditorium.