Arts
Ringing in Christmas cheer with loads of laughter
Christmas has come early to Colombo as Silent Hands Productions stages the Yuletide farce, ‘Sorry, Wrong Chimney’, on November 29 and 30 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre at 7.30 p.m.
The cast at practice: Lots of twists to navigate. Pix by Amila Gamage
‘Sorry, Wrong Chimney’, originally written by Jack Sharley and produced and directed by Leo Sears, is the story of David Tuttle and his desperate attempt to get his wife the best possible Christmas present, and everything around him conspiring against his wish to do so.
David moonlights as a Santa Claus to earn money for the gift. With his newly-married wife getting suspicious and the involvement of an old nosy married couple, a do-it-by-the-book policeman and a burglar and his gun-toting wife, there’s a lot of confusion, mistaken identities and trouble in store.
Speaking to the directors and cast who have been working on this play for two months, it is clear why they are sure it will ring in the holiday cheer and have the audience in stitches.
“I would much, much prefer to direct and leave the acting to someone else,” says Jehan Bastians who speaks of the challenges of directing the play and taking on the character of Bill who is psychiatrist cum inquisitive neighbour.
Bill is looked upto as someone who should know what he is doing due to his profession. But things slowly begin to spiral out of control due to the presence of a burglar.
Neidra Williams who is also playing the double role of director and actor talks about how ‘Sorry, Wrong Chimney’, came about.
“This script was brought down some time ago but we did not have an opportune moment to do it. Usually during Christmas season, it’s very heavy with entertainment but this time around the stars were aligned as it were… ” she tells us as she moves on to talk about Natalie, the character she plays.
The other half of the old married couple, Natalie, is described as someone who has a lot of time on her hands, really projecting the typical aunty-vibe. She looks at the protagonist couple as her surrogate children which in turn leads to her interfering in their lives while trying to help them out.
Kovindu
Neidra
Melmari
Chantal
Julian Anderson who plays David Tuttle, says his character is a hardworking executive who gives it all to fulfil his greatest wish– to get the best gift for his wife to show his love for her. Whatever or whoever conspires against him achieving this goal really ticks him off.
“From the way the character is written, to the way I play David it is a little different. I put my own spin to it,” says Julian.
“People think comedies are easy because it is a typecast character and the people can relate to it but this is not so,” he says.
Playing the role of David’s suspicious wife is Chantal Dassanayake. Samantha who thinks her husband is having an affair with another woman, enlists the help of her neighbours to get to the truth. She thinks hypnotising her husband is the answer, but there is mistaken identity and a lot of ensuing confusion.
“Generally what I try to do is read the script a couple of times so I can get this mental image of what Samantha looks like, what she wears, probably what she does, her hobbies, etc. It’s those things that help me get into character,” says Chantal.
“I am more of a side plot that adds to the confusion, comedy and disruption,” laughs Kovindu De Seram as he talks about playing Kris Kreigle — the burglar who also dresses up as Santa Claus complicating the whole situation.
Christopher
Jehan
Julian
A modern day grinch, as he tries to burgle everyone’s houses and steal their Christmas cheer, Kovindu says he believes ‘Sorry, Wrong Chimney’ will really go down well with the audience.
“It’s the Christmas season and there’s family involvement and audiences can see the differences between an aged romance compared to a new romance. That’s the great thing about farce, it takes an actual situation and expands it and shows it in an exaggerated light creating confusion and laughter.”
Melmari Cruse plays Sheila, the burglar’s wife and accomplice. It seems like Sheila is the one who really dominates the relationship as she gets the couple out of the many scrapes her husband gets them into.
Demure by nature, Melmari tells us about the challenges she faces playing the role. “There are a lot of scenes where I have to project myself as loud and assertive. This has been a bit tough. But with the help of the cast and breathing exercises it’s getting better,” she says shyly.
Christopher Stevens’ character is the literal definition of ‘wrong place, wrong time’. Christopher plays the cop who comes to investigate a report of a gunshot and ends up being roped into a situation that he never expected to be in as a hypnosis attempt goes wrong (or does it actually go right?)
“It is a Christmas themed play. So if you want to get into the Christmas mood, come see the play as it is entertainment for the whole family,” Christopher says, summing it up.
Tickets priced Rs. 3,500, Rs. 2,500, Rs. 2,000, Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 800 (balcony) are available at the Lionel Wendt.