Arts
If it’s laughter you’re looking for, you’re at the right play!
Switch over to the ‘80s – the glorious ‘80s with the big hair, the miniskirts, and the bold colours- and dip your head into a domestic fiasco where sheer coincidence makes the conniving characters plunge into hilarious situations.
Scenes from the play
It all happens in a small apartment with just one bedroom. Against his better judgment, Mr Markham allows his friend, Mr Lodge, to borrow the bedroom for one evening to engage in a romance with Miss Wilkinson. Against her better judgment, Mrs Markham allows Mrs Lodge to borrow the bedroom for an evening with Walter. Against her better judgment, the maid allows the interior decorator to persuade her to spend an evening with him in the Markhams’ bedroom. It happens to be the same evening.
Move Over, Mrs. Markham is directed by Jehan Bastians and Neidra Williams of Silent Hands. Neidra is also Mrs. Markham, who is at the centre of it all, and good-naturedly tries to cover up for everyone. She holds the reins and attempts to stop the chaos mushrooming. Neidra played the same character nine years ago with Jehan as director, and enjoys the touch of Ray Cooney and John Chapman– playwrights who give characters lines that simply trip off the tongue. “It’s a chance for the audience to let their hair down and laugh out loud,” says Neidra.
Naresh Anthony is Mr. Markham- the male counterpart of his wife in being an honest, hardworking man who takes his duty seriously- whether it is his family, the office or friends. Naresh enjoys the rehearsals, as a farce means constant laughter; but apart from the hilarity, he finds that portraying many different relationships is a serious task.
Jehan himself is Mr. Lodge, of the roving eye. Though Markham’s business partner, he is carefree and cheats on his wife constantly. He is also going through a mid-life crisis, with a paunch bulging out and maybe not as attractive as he once was. Jehan found the play calls for much physical exertion. He says that the play will tickle everyone: those who come in ready to laugh, those who need slapstick and those who enjoy the bon mots and wit in the dialogue.
Trudy Herft is the long suffering Mrs. Lodge who has decided that she will not be cuckolded any more, and is finally out to have her share of fun. Trudy has taken to the character with enthusiasm, and has applied her own bubbly, mischievous personality into the fickle, frivolous and impulsive Linda Lodge.
Jehani Muthukuda plays Ms. Wilkinson, Mr. Lodge’s date. Jehani, more tomboy by temperament, found playing a former debutante- feminine, sensual, flirty- quite novel. She enjoys the subtlety of British comedy which does not have the all-out American frankness.
Devinda de Silva plays Walter, the older man with whom Linda Lodge has chosen to tryst. Though the youngest in the cast, Devinda has got to play the oldest, which poses a great challenge. But Devinda enjoys the way the play is constructed, all of it tightly, satisfyingly, locked together.
Juilan Anderson is Alistair, the young interior decorator Mrs. Markham has hired to bring avant garde taste into the apartment, and prances around the stage scattering colour. The flamboyant, handsome and artsy man is secretly ‘carrying on’ with Sylvie, the Markhams’ au pair girl. Julian would intrinsically prefer to fade to the background but finds the colourful central role quite enjoyable. The hard thing about farce, he says, is that it is necessary to feed off your co-actor, and spontaneity takes over the act of memorizing the lines, as timing is crucial in the dialogue.
Trinushka Perera has come across a stumbling block in that her character Sylvie the au pair girl has a major Swiss accent, though she otherwise fits into the young, ebullient girl’s role effortlessly. Sulo Perera plays Olive Harriet Smythe, the eccentric, dog-loving, imposing spinster- rigid and austere though with a butterfly mind. She is a bestselling children’s author who comes into the publishing house run by Lodge and Markham.
If you want to make your evening froth over with lots of sparkling hilarity, head to the Lionel Wendt where the Markhams’ small flat will be invaded by a sublimely fun comedy of errors. The play will be staged on August 31 and September 1 and 2, from 7.30 p.m. to 9.30p.m., and tickets are available at the Silent Hands’ Facebook and Instagram pages, and at the Lionel Wendt.