Arts
A very British comedy by Amphitheatre Productions
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Jaliya Wijewardene
Jaliya Wijewardene and Yasal Ruhunage have enjoyed British theatre and British humour from a young age. Growing up under this influence led them to direct ‘Well Mudaliyar’ in March last year and following its success, the duo are back with ‘Yes Minister’.
‘Yes Minister’ presented by Amphitheatre Productions goes on the boards on June 28, 29 and 30 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre, Colombo 7 at 7.30 p.m.
Written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, the play is an updated version of the original television series ‘Yes Minister’ and its sequel ‘Yes Prime Minister’, also by the same duo. The writers have taken the same characters and put them in a contemporary setting, Jaliya tells us.
Amphitheatre Productions was started by Jaliya and Yasal, two friends from Kandy who have been in theatre for most of their lives and always had a dream of coming to Colombo and staging a production at the Wendt. Their plans had been in the pipeline for almost two years, before they decided to take a leap of faith and book the hall for a production of H.C.N. De Lanerolle’s Fifty Fifty.
At that point, they didn’t have anything. “No set, no cast, nothing!” The auditorium was booked for September 2016, and they only found their cast in June/July, they recall with a hearty laugh. “It was word of mouth initially — we spoke to people we knew, who spoke to their friends, and gradually people came in.”
Today, their extended group numbers 15 to 20.
When they first came across Yes Minister, both Jaliya and Yasal were immediately hooked. The plot unfolds with Britain in the depths of a financial crisis — unemployment is on the rise. British Prime Minister Jim Hacker has initiated a conference with all the EU members to discuss what can be done. As part of a very fragile coalition government, his hold on power is hanging by a thread.
Yasal Ruhunage
Together with his Private Secretary Bernard Woolley, Cabinet Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby and Special Advisor Claire Sutton, he must push through a deal with an oil-rich Middle Eastern country that could make or break everything.
“Just when I was reading it, I automatically knew who I wanted to play particular roles. So then it was a question of seeing if these people would like to come on board,” Jaliya tells us.
Though preliminary arrangements for the show started about six months ago, the Easter Sunday attacks put them on the back foot. They considered cancelling the production but finally decided to go ahead as the situation improved.
When it comes to directing they prefer to let the cast interpret the play their way. It’s more of a collaborative effort, and the directors only step in if there’s a glaring problem with any interpretation, Yasal says.
Abbasali Rozais who plays PM Jim Hacker is well versed with the TV show so much so he can recite entire episodes. The directors try to tap into this knowledge. “So we tell him, if you see that we can include a couple of nuances from the show, tell us,” Yasal adds. It is this constant feedback loop that also helped them in ‘Well Mudaliyar.’
At the end of the day, what makes ‘Yes Minister stand out is the smart writing. The show itself was loved by actual politicians who were in the system because it was so accurate. It is sharp, clever comedy, where the punchlines only work “if you deliver it right.” This is a challenge in itself.
The directors feel the people coming to see the play will be in for a pleasant surprise that will have them “laughing all the way home” because although the very flavour of the old show is kept, things have been taken up a notch.
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve watched the show or not, they assure us. If you haven’t watched the TV show, you’re going to see some really smart comedy which will make you want to watch it. If you have watched the show, you’re going to have a lot of throwbacks and little easter eggs to look forward to. There’s something for everyone!
Tickets priced at Rs 3500, Rs 2500, Rs 1500 and Rs 800 (Balcony – Unreserved) are available at the Lionel Wendt box office and online via www.lionelwendt.org.