‘Rumors’ abound in Elizabeth Moir’s latest production

By Joshua Surendraraj

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Things don’t seem to be going according to plan at the tenth anniversary party of Charlie Brock the Deputy Mayor of New York. It seems Charlie has injured himself. But why ? Is the question on everyone’s lips. It soon transpires that the kitchen staff, together with Charlie’s wife Myra, seem to have disappeared. In the heat of things, rumors of misunderstanding between the couple seem to make its way into the picture.

Elizabeth Moir is back with Neil Simon’s farcical play, ‘Rumors’. The cast, directed by Anushka Senanayake will showcase their production at the Lionel Wendt on March 29 (Wednesday).

It’s past school hours and children run about playfully at every turn. The cast however, remain seated, preparing themselves for the practices that evening. The excitement clear in their eyes. Our conversations with them turn out to be interesting ones.

According to Anjali Mathews (17), her character, Cassie Cooper is one to watch out for. A trophy wife, as Anjali describes her, Cassie is haughty and bad tempered. Her role however is a comical one and keeps the audience entertained throughout.

She’s a lot younger than the other characters in the play, however unlike them, Cassie pays no attention to what’s going on. She’s self absorbed.

Anjali is not new to acting in school productions. Previously, she played the role of a nurse in “Who’s life is it anyway.” However unlike the nurse, who was more timid and nervous in that play, ‘Casssie’ will be a change of pace, she explains.

Harnessing her experience, Anjali hopes to truly portray the bratty side of Cassie, who ends up arguing with everyone on set, she tells us.

Areeb Thassin, tells us about his character Ernie Cusack, is Charlie’s analyst in the play. He is the oldest of the group and constantly tries to calm everyone down. “ I’m like the most chilled out of the lot,” Areeb tells us, with a laugh.

Anan Weerasinghe

The seventeen year old explains he is a funny guy in general. He enjoys doing a lot of different things outside his studies, which include socializing and sports. His role in the play is one that is almost second nature to him, and thereby Areeb hopes add his own twist to ‘Ernie’.

Aside from the play, though Areeb tells us, he’s learning a lot on set. “Acting brings out a part of you that you didn’t know you had, so its a good way to learn about yourself and I enjoy that,” he says.

Lenny Ganz is probably the most emotionally balanced character out of the lot. He could be serious at times, while he could be comical. Despite the plethora of emotions, however, Anan Weerasinghe (17), who plays Lenny, feels that it’s the character’s seriousness which defines him.

Young Anan is not a serious person in general though, he recalls. “I’m a bit of a clown I would say,” he says adding, this would be the first time people get to see that serious side of him.

‘Rumors’, tries to capture that bit of everyday life. But in doing so, it also tends to be an overly dramatic version of an average situation, although extremely comical. “It’s a play about when you start up with a small lie, you have to come up with a bigger lie to cover it up, till it becomes this whole web of lies,” Ishini Gammanpila (16) explains.

Ishini will be portraying the role of ‘Claire Ganz’. Claire is more of an eccentric characters. Aside from this she is egoistic and just focuses on her looks. “I can be quite dramatic and loud at times,” Ishini admits, adding that she hopes to bring that to her role.

We find out, Ishini is not limited by her studies, rather she does a lot of extracurricular activities. She is playful and hyperactive, two traits, which she believes will be useful in the production. “This play is one where the energy never drops and it’s always constant throughout. And I feel that hyperactivity is essential when it comes to it,” she says.

We move on to ‘Ken Gorman’ an important character in the play. He is portrayed by Akash Gnanam, an energetic seventeen year old. Ken is a lawyer by profession and is quite frantic because of Charlie’s accident.

Akash explains, his character goes deaf at one point in the play, and this involves a lot of shouting, which is also quite hilarious. “I’d like to think I’m a funny person in general and I hope to bring my energy into the character, he tells us.

Ishini Gammanpila. Mugshots by Athula Devapriya

Finally the moment everyone’s been waiting for. Here come the Police. Alas though, officer Ben Welch, is not really the best Police officer around. He’s actually arrived at the house for a different purpose, but sooner finds out about Charlie and goes snooping. His investigations lead nowhere and his interviews, pointless with no conclusions whatsoever.

Sixteen year old Methin Lokumannage, who plays officer Welch, tells us his role is interesting, because you see him as a stern character, while at the same time he also seems funny and forward.

Overall the cast promise an exciting experience for the audience. ‘Rumors’ is bound to leave the crowd in high spirits, throughout its duration.

Magazine Cover and inside images by Anu Prakash

Tickets for ‘Rumors’ are priced at Rs.2000, Rs.1500, Rs.1000 and Rs.600. They are currently available at the Elizabeth Moir School, Colombo.