Mirror Magazine

Our model this week is Maria who is seen modeling an out-fit by Ruchira Silva of "Rebel". Her hair and make-up was by Romesh Attapattu of Ramani Fernando saloon. She was photographed by Anuruddha Medawattegedara.

Contents

The chase is on again
By Ruhanie Perera
Laughter, food and incessant chatter well ensconced in the general feeling of bonhomie, so no one can take offence - and no one does. More jokes, jibes coming in at lightning speed, "Open the sauce, men", "Do you remember when...15 years ago" and "Did someone mention false eyelashes?" The general atmosphere is one of absolute chaos, with the cast members of Run for Your Wife revelling in sheer madness. This is before they get onstage. Onstage, I'm told, lines fly at a hectic pace and the sequence of events is rather chaotic.

There's the taxi driver John Smith (Mohammed Adamally) who is described as a very ordinary guy. Yep, he's just your average, regular, commonplace guy - except, of course, he's married to two women. One the caring Mary (Wanda Godlieb) and the other the sultry Barbara (Neidra Williams), each contributing in their own, characteristic way to heighten the mayhem, which occurs the fateful day everything goes wrong and John is in danger of being found out. And that's just the beginning!

Enter Deshan Devasagayam and Johann Peries as the detectives on the 'cabbie case' and Sean Amarasekera as Stanley Gardner, who quite by chance gets mixed up in the mess and goes from 'guy in the apartment upstairs just trying to help' to a host of other identities as each new challenge crops up. Then there's Feroze Kamardeen's 30-second guest appearance, as the news-hungry reporter, which he claims, leaves both the course of events and the lives of the people involved, forever changed. (Oh, that it does.)

Wait! There's more - just when you think life couldn't get more complicated for poor Mr. Smith, in walks (or should I say waltzes) Bobby Franklin (Jerome de Silva) the gay neighbour...need I say more.

Written by Ray Cooney, the side-splitting comedy Run for Your Wife is back after eight years. And the reason for this: "A Pact". "Yes, a pact," grins Adamally, "we just had so much fun doing it the first time (in 1994) that we promised ourselves we'd revive it in six years." Strange? Yes, even corny - but true. Come 2000, however, it seemed too soon and so eight years later (with many requests from theatre goers backing the decision) most of the original cast of the Performing Arts Company's maiden hit, with some new additions, take the stage to do what they do best - keep audiences in stitches.

Comprising experienced actors, there's bound to be lots of individual contributions coming in. But, as this cast proves, a number of talented individuals coming together only to end up with not so successful results ...are only for cooks (with particular regard for soup). Says director Nafeesa Amiruddeen: "The cast is experienced and that makes it such a pleasure to direct, as they bring in so much to the play." She is quite content to let them take over, coming in only to put the entire picture together. "They tackle their roles very professionally," she says. "Although in a farce there is very little room for characterization. What with the stereotypes bordering on caricatures, I see them adding a lot of depth to the characters, making each situation as 'real' as can be, given the circumstances."

As for the actors: "I feel we're a lot more mature," says Adamally, "We're eight years older and I feel that's what gives that kind of maturity to the play. The characters are coming out a lot stronger than before." In addition to that, the actors have, over the years, developed (if not perfected) a particular acting style, which is a contributing factor to the overall panache this performance seems to promise. Says Neidra Williams, "It helps that we've acted together before. We know how to play up to the strengths of the people we act with, so the pieces of the jigsaw fit in a lot better and that helps."

Interested in seeing this completed jigsaw? Produced by the Performing Arts Company, Run for Your Wife will be on at the Lionel Wendt from August 15 - 18 and from August 23-25. The principal sponsor for the show is Commercial Bank with Sinwa, Dialog and Yes FM coming in as co-sponsors.

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