Powerful performances brought to life in ‘Stormy Weather’
Pix courtesy Dilanjan Seneviratne
‘Stormy Weather’ which was performed at the Lionel Wendt, recently did not disappoint. It’s carefully crafted plot,the development of characters and exemplary set changes, made it an interesting production. Aside from this the play also carried a strong message, which was beautifully portrayed by its talented cast.
It was Amesh De Silva’s boisterous character, Noel Richards, who set things off. The man (Noel) surrounded himself with drama, all of which seemed to stem from his insecurities. A few seconds into the first act and the audience could immediately guess what was in store for poor ‘Therese’ (Piorina Fernando), his wife.
The rapid pacing and the liquor stand, not to mention his annoyance at being left alone with his child. One could almost sense the tension in the air, the moment an unsuspecting ‘Therese’ walked in.
A blow to her face and Therese desperately tries to hide the pain from their daughter, ‘Rachel’ (Atira Bandaranayke). But it is the sad reality of women facing domestic violence.
At this point ‘Noel’ accuses ‘Therese’ of adultery, his now drunken state, seemingly fuelling his anger, the set moves on whilst Rachel watches on. Ironically though as the plot thickens, it is proven that‘Noel’ was also untrue to his wife, with the notorious femme fatale, ‘Avanti’ (Kavita Gunasekere). “I wasn’t going to be the victim anymore,”‘Therese pipes. The line is interesting, because it showcased her strength, a departure from her more submissive role. After ‘Noel’s’ death, her character develops; it changes, from a more dutiful, loving woman to a more deceptive role, making one wonder, if she could have been the one behind his death.
The character development in the production is admirable. Therese’s role, was the perfect example of the two archetypes of females in Film Noir. Here you’d find either a dutiful, reliable and trustworthy woman or a manipulative, untrustworthy and unloving woman. The two other women in the story, Avanti and Charmain (Dmitri Gunatilake), Noel’s sister, portrayed stock characters of femme fatale roles.
While everything else in the plot moves on, one would seem to feel for the nameless inspector (Dino Corera), desperately trying to solve the case. His role was an interesting one, cross examining the suspects, i.e. the three ladies. Dino’s brilliant acting, played a crucial part in the plot.
It was but towards the end, after Charmain, drills it out, that the audience realises, the inspector’s affair with Therese. A piece of information, kept well concealed up until that point. This makes one wonder, what his motives were. Could he be the killer himself? Not being able to stand by idly whilst his lover was abused. Or was Therese the actual killer and was he trying to save her?
Aside from the characters, the carefully crafted set changes, kept the audience hooked. Things were made interesting, with scene changes going back to the past, to portray their relationships with Noel while he was still alive.
The key part of this production by Jehan Aloysius, which interestingly tied everything together, was brought out through the character of the child Rachel. The entire set revolves around her view and being influenced by the actions of the adults.
The constant arguing, from being exposed to violence at a very young age (the audience even lets out a gasp when Noel sends Rachel across the floor, in blind rage), not to mention seeing her father with another leads to that final outcome of murder.