Explosion of 'Fusion'

By Uthpala Gunethilake

The show kicked off with "Husbands Supplied" by Visakha Vidyalaya. The action takes place in a bureau which supplies women with husbands and on this particular day the problem is that there aren't any husbands to be supplied for the five ladies who walk in that morning. Providing them with husbands is anyway a daunting task. One wants an 'exciting' husband, another wants a husband with blue eyes while a third wishes for one with a soul. Finally when a man walks in, chaos ensues.

The play gently pokes fun at our notions about the perfect partner, littered with solemnly delivered truisms like "waiting for a husband is always unpleasant" and "it takes all sorts to make a marriage" . The actors took to their parts easily, and it was evident that they were enjoying themselves as much as the audience.

Enter St. Bridget's Convent next with 'Shakespeare's Ladies'. Six of Shakespeare's most famous leading ladies get together to advise a starry-eyed Juliet on matters of love and men. But the ever hopeful Juliet ends up advising them all. With Shakespearean phrases spiced up with modern day slang, the play was bitingly satirical. However, lighter dialogue would have brought out the humour in it better. 

The joint production of Visakha Vidyalaya and St. Peters College was titled 'Suppressed Desires'. Henrietta's obsession with psycho-analysis threatens to drive Stephen, her husband, mad. Henrietta's sister Mabel enters the fray when Henrietta attempts to analyse her dreams, insisting that they reveal hidden desires. A preoccupied Henrietta, an agitated Mabel and a near-insane Stephen leave the audience gasping for breath when in the end, the supposedly suppressed desires of Stephen and Mabel turn out to be for each other. 

Next on stage was Bishop's College with 'Plaza Suite'. The play and the superb acting could have prised out a heartfelt laugh from even the most serious theatre-goer. Mimsey Hubley locks herself up in the bathroom just minutes before her wedding. No amount of cajoling and screaming from her overeactive mother and furious but caring father can get the teary-eyed Mimsey out of the bathroom. 

It takes an enthusiastic "Cool it!" from her husband-to-be for Mimsey to forget her fears about becoming a quarrelsome couple like her mother and father, and come out of the bathroom. It's a poignant but hilarious tale about human weaknesses, and the actors, who did great justice to the script, had the audience clutching their sides throughout the performance. 

St. Peter's College came on stage next with "Dadi Bidi Branch". A play exploring the typical failings of a Sri Lankan rural bank, it satirizes the attitudes of its employees. The manager is every bit the crook, thriving upon favouritism, and his staff is no better. The actors who were the outgoing and incoming members of the school's Interact club, had a rollicking time on stage, sending the audience into considerably wild fits of laughter.

It was a perfectly enjoyable night except for slight disturbances from an excited audience. The catcalls and the chatter tended to continue several minutes into each play, and sometimes the actors had to shout to be heard. 

But a fusion it was, of talent, ideas as well as comradeship. And no doubt that each participant felt happy for having done something good, and having done it well. 

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