| Mirror
Magazine |
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| Wanted: One elderly chaperone
‘Charley’s Aunt’, a production by the Past Pupils Association of Bishop’s College will go on the boards of the Bishop’s College Auditorium on October 4 and 5 Two young under-graduates, one mysterious aunt and a looming summer vacation – the perfect recipe to keep you in stitches throughout the play and laughing all the way home. “Mrs. Irene Wanig-aratne, a past pupil, is a name synonymous with drama at Bishop’s College,” smiles Indrani Dias, the President of the PPA. “We thought it only fit therefore that we present this play, which she first produced many years back, as a tribute to her.” The cast includes four female roles portrayed by past pupils, and six male roles portrayed by young thespians who count some connection to the school. An evergreen farce set in Oxford, Charley’s Aunt is about miscommunication. Charley Wykeham and Jack Chesney are two Oxford undergraduates who have one main project to initiate and implement before summer vacation – getting their girlfriends down for the weekend. An impossible feat if you are resident students of a University with no viable female (mind the emphasis) chaperones in sight. What are they to do? Whilst they rack their brains for ideas, there appears, out of the blue, a telegram informing the disgruntled two that Charley’s ‘Aunt’ is due for a visit on the exact same weekend. The lovelorn minds of Jack and Charley begin a calculated dance and the plot thickens. They’ll ask the girls over for a visit and ask Charley’s Aunt (who is sure to oblige) to act as the chaperone. Brilliant or so it seems, until a further telegram makes its way to the letter box announcing that Charley’s ‘Aunt’ has been “unfortunately delayed” and will not be able to make it in time. Chaos reigns and the fun begins! Charley, of course, has never set his eyes upon this ‘Aunt’ who is known in the family circles for her large bank balance. The girls are already on their way and it’s quite unlikely that they will appreciate the current situation. Add to this mayhem a straight-faced butler, a retired army General and an uptight guardian to make Jack’s and Charley’s life miserable. Enter Babbs, a fellow batch mate who decides to help. Babbs has just been chosen to play an old woman in an amateur drama production. What better person to impersonate Charley’s ‘Aunt’ for the weekend! “It’s
a different kind of play as it is set in a different era,”
smiles Nafisa Amirudeen and Claire de Silva, the Directors cum Producers
of the show. “It’s a play that has ideas that now seem
outdated and that’s what makes it so interesting at the same
time.” |
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