‘Chatroom’: Now more important than ever before
The cast: Taking on dual roles this time around
In this room, words are power,” director Tasmin Anthonisz encapsulates the crux of her upcoming production ‘Chatroom’, an adaptation of Irish playwright Enda Walsh’s darkly comedic and thought-provoking work of six teenagers meeting online.
A production by her company Studiolusion, ‘Chatroom’ presented in special agreement with Concord Theatricals Pvt Ltd and on behalf of Samuel French Inc. will be staged on July 8, 9 and 10 at the Harold Peiris Gallery
It begins as an ordinary exchange between bored strangers on the internet, dissecting children’s literature and the meanings in contemporary pop music but takes a sinister turn when a new participant Jim, a lonely adolescent, arrives and shares his thoughts on depression and suicide.
Taking a special interest in Jim is William who due to his own struggles, relates to Jim’s experience yet decides to exploit him to further his own agenda. Egging William on is Eva while opposing them are Jack and Emily along with Laura.
The cast take on dual roles with Nismath Thasleem and Niven Nanayakkara playing William, Tahsha De Silva and Hajarah Faleel playing Eva, Niven Nanayakkara and Akmal Haamid playing Jim, Tahsha De Silva and Hajarah Faleel playing Laura, Akmal Haamid and Murthaaz Barry playing Jack and Janice de Costa as Emily.
Tasmin who started early at the Wendy Whatmore Academy of Speech and Drama aged just four, decided to pursue theatre as a professional career after taking part in the Academy’s production of ‘After Juliet’ directed by Tracy Holsinger. “That was my first experience of realizing that theatre could be used to comment on what was happening in real life – it can be used for something bigger than just a spectacle in front of a spotlight.”
Tasmin Anthonisz. Pic by Indika Handuwala
With a BA in Drama and Screen Studies from the University of Manchester, Tasmin who now wears many hats as writer, production designer, theatre director, drama teacher and actor, went on to found her own theatre company, Studiolusion in 2017. Describing it as a ‘performance laboratory’, she says her vision was to create a space for emerging artists and enable them to workshop their ideas and develop fresh content in the form of plays, film scripts and more.
Social commentary is a feature of any Studiolusion production. Their first performance of ‘Chatroom’ in 2017 explored the ramifications of cyberbullying when reports of it were on the rise that year. In 2019, following the Easter attacks, ‘Heirs’ – a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet, explored the erupting tensions between the feuding Montagues and the Capulets.
Chatroom was performed virtually for the second time in 2021 for the Children in Lockdown Arts Festival organized by Stages Theater Group as reports of cyberbullying spiked again during the pandemic.
“Someone walking right next to you could be going through this mental hell coming right out of their phones and you would have no idea,” says Tasmin. “I felt like the story of Chatroom is more important now more than ever because cyberbullying rates have increased exponentially since the pandemic when everyone began working virtually. I thought it was very relevant in 2017 when we first did it but now, five years later I think its relevance is even greater.”
‘Chatroom’ was first staged at the Sooriya Village dining room to create an immersive theatrical experience with the line between performers and audience members blurred. This year’s production, also another immersive theatre experience, adds another layer with a dual cast. The idea came during a simple acting exercise where Tasmin opted to make things a little more interesting for her cast who had been rehearsing the same roles for months at a stretch. Directing them to switch roles, Tasmin liked the result so much that she decided to incorporate this into the upcoming performance. “We have one set who are sticking with their original roles and a secondary cast where unlikely choices for some characters are selected to portray those characters.”
The set design is also different. Their second production of Chatroom saw the actors deliver their lines perched on white cubes against a black backdrop. This year, each character will have meticulously designed personal spaces reflecting their online personalities in both an abstract and symbolic way, says Tasmin. With words and text a big theme of the production, there are scrabble sets, newspaper clippings and wording written on mirrors to highlight this.
Chatroom will be performed at the Harold Pieris Gallery, upstairs of the Lionel Wendt Arts Centre on July 8, 9 and 10 with five shows each day.
Limited tickets priced at Rs.1500 are available with Shalini – 077 545 1722 or Anuk – 077 517 6741.
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