You love him, you hate him: It’s Fagin!

It’s a rare actor who can play a youthful tragic lover in one play and then switch to a shrewd, aging thief in another – and be equally at ease in both roles. And yet in his short but colourful career, Manoj Singanayagam has sunk his teeth into both these roles, and several others besides. However, it is his latest role - that of Fagin in the Workshop Players’ production ‘Oliver!’ – that has this talented young actor set on outdoing himself.

In a musical where Oliver himself remains a naïve, innocent little boy, it is somehow the characters around him – the petty criminals, the desperate women, and the out and out evil men - that really draw the eye…and engage the heart. Manoj, in particular, makes for a delightful Fagin. By turns eccentric, untrustworthy and scheming, Fagin is always looking out for himself. Why do we love him? Because Fagin is obviously a criminal with a heart – admittedly a well armoured one.

“I actually started off with Jerome and The Workshop Players,” explains Manoj, who juggles a family and a successful career in banking along with a flourishing interest in theatre. He reveals that his big production debut was surprisingly recent; he played Banzai – one of the malevolent yet comedic hyenas in ‘The Lion King’ (1999). His creditable performance opened many more doors to him, and several bigger roles soon came along (for instance that of Romeo in the Stage Light and Magic production R&J).

Since then, the years have seen Manoj develop an unusual and distinct preference for comic roles; and he seems at his best when inspiring laughter. However, anyone who’s watched his performance as Fagin is well aware that laughter is only one of the emotions he inspires. “Fagin is an amazing role,” he says, adding that he was initially rather nervous about accepting it, especially because the production’s renowned director Jerome L. de Silva had played it in the past. But this time Jerome wanted Manoj to take it on – and has never regretted it since.

Manoj says he has thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with his role. It’s apparent that Fagin is a complex character – and whether you love him or hate him, you’ll always enjoy him; be it for his mincing steps and sweeping gestures, the Jewish accent complemented by a shrewd, sly persona, or the innate but charming eccentricity - the fact remains that Fagin is irresistible. And he is only made more appealing by the streak of kindness that seems as intrinsic to him as his manipulative tendencies.

You have only to see him with the children under his ‘care’ to see the truth in that. They have his number, it seems, and none of them really seem afraid of him. As a result, they quite successfully drive him around the bend – a state of affairs that Manoj himself is quite familiar with. When his co-stars tend to be half his size and outnumber him nearly 50 to 1, playing Fagin has turned out to be quite a challenge for the actor in more ways than one. Talking about their enthusiasm for the play, he says that they’re always coming up with ideas on how they can play the scene better.

His own method of acting seems to be somewhat similar – constantly evolving. Thinking on his feet has become second nature to him. He also adds that the crowd he’s playing to counts for a lot. “When you have a receptive audience, you tend to give more,” he says, adding, “to just stand on stage in front of all those people, and have the audience respond to you – that is an amazing feeling.” It’s also crucial that the cast enjoy themselves on stage. “If you don’t have fun on stage, the audience can spot it right away,” he says.

Having never received any formal training, Manoj credits Jerome for much of what he learnt on the job. It turns out that his is a talent that would fit comfortably into Broadway musical. As Jerome points out, Manoj is the perfect performer, one who can not only sing, dance and act, but who can do all three very well indeed. But that’s Manoj for you.

The key to his success seems to lie as much in hard work as it does in talent. For instance, he explains that his role as Fagin demanded a lot of preparation. His accent needed to be distinctly Jewish with slight cockney undertones, reveals Manoj, adding that the most difficult bit was articulating clearly enough so that the audience would be able to follow every word. Determined to sound as natural as he could, Manoj practised endlessly – turning normal conversations into learning sessions. The result? You would never knew who you were going to get – Manoj or Fagin. And keeping the accent only got harder when it came to the singing.

Numbers such as “Gotta pick a pocket or two,” “Be back soon” and “Reviewing the situation,” are memorable – not only for the insight they provide into Fagin’s character but also for Manoj’s wonderful delivery. The numbers deliberately don’t feature sophisticated, ‘beautiful’ singing explains Manoj. Instead it’s all about delivery – the sudden drop to a whisper, changing emphasis on words and pace – all combine to cover a rich variety of emotions.

“Manoj has charisma,” says Jerome, adding that the actor took to the part like a “duck to the water”. “Who else could take his place?” he asks. Who else indeed; which is why Manoj is the only actor to play Fagin throughout the production’s 10 day long run. Manoj himself says he will look back on this time as one of the most incredibly special (albeit exhausting) experiences in his life – one that will come to a close with the final curtain call tonight.

Thinking about that, he says “I’m dreading it, but I’m going to remember every night of this show... this is one of the best roles I’ve ever played…” Those of us who watched him are pleased to agree. ivid paintings.