Stellar performance

Although the play dealt with some large issues such as morality and faith etc.,
the real beauty of the play (especially as all the roles are played by one person) is how it depicts the various states of mind and roles one must play or go through in a lifetime; be it, victim, survivor, or the little bit of divinity within each of us, it just wouldn't have been as potent if played by multiple people

Having taken our seats at the Punchi Theatre on the opening day (July 26) of the double bill 'The Interview' and Shel Silverstein's 'The Devil and Billy Markham,' presented by the StageLight & Magic, which would draw to a close the month-long "Noir – Extra Dark Theatre Fest" we found out that the latter of the two plays was to be a "solo performance" lasting 70 minutes! The first thought that ran through my mind was…how can anyone possibly sit through over one hour of just one person? An hour and a half or so later, an awe-struck me, was made (quite voluntarily at that), to eat my own words!

What more can you expect when you put a brilliant script, an outstanding actor, an imaginative director and a bountiful supply of creativity, on one stage? That being said, it came as no surprise when the "chosen one man player," turned out to be the abundantly talented Marsh Dodanwela, who gave a performance of a lifetime! Now, for a word with the man himself…

"When Feroze (Kamardeen) first approached me with the script and once I read through it, fear and trepidation were the first emotions I felt. I didn't think I was ready to pull off a one-man performance yet. Feroze however thought otherwise, which was quite a confidence booster for me, so I agreed," said Marsh of his initial encounter with Silverstein's work.

"The more I read the script though, the more I fell in love with it. Once the characters developed and gradually metamorphosised, my fear was replaced by a new sense of ownership. Although I felt like quite a schizophrenic at times, because I kept jumping from playing the characters of God, the devil, Billy Markham, his wife, mother and child, the narrator and Scuzzy Sleezo the snooker agent. Nevertheless, it was quite invigorating and the mere thought of attempting it, was a challenge," he said enthusiastically.

"There even came a point when it seemed as though it wasn't even me acting anymore. At times, it even felt as though I was on an out-of-control locomotive ride heading off the rails…but I loved every minute of it!" he said laughingly. "When you let yourself go to such an extent sometimes, it's almost as if you're having an out of body experience," he added. Unlike in most other roles he'd played before, he wasn't in charge of the reins this time!

As the play was in fact a one-man performance, it was not just a test of his versatility as an actor but also his stamina.

It was far more trying than any role he's done before, as he had to deliver the goods on his own this time. Having run 30-40 minutes daily on a treadmill at the gym whilst reciting his lines to himself, it came as no surprise that regular gym-goers rather doubted his sanity at the time, he said with a laugh.

"Strangely though, I always felt weightless whilst on stage and never actually realised just how demanding this role was on me physically until I was finally offstage, at which point I promptly collapsed," he recollects.

Memorising a script that had been written completely in "rhyming couplets" was probably the most challenging aspect of this performance, he said. Being a Karate black belt, he thinks it could be attributed to the discipline and mental focus you get when training in a martial art.

"There's absolutely no margin for error in a script like this, you just have to get it right. Even though I haven't been training at all of late, a lot of my agility and stamina too could be attributed to my strict training regime at the time," he said smilingly.
On top of everything, making each character stand out from the other and picking just the right voice per character was also one of the most difficult things he had to do, he says.

You just have one shot at making the audience understand what's going on so, the voices really have to be distinct, he added.
"However, none of this would have ever been possible if not for Feroze's advice, Ifaz (Bin Jameel's - Director) subtle guidance, and Lalindra (Amarasekara's - Producer) constant support. They've been my driving force right from day one; pushing me a little bit more out of my comfort zone each rehearsal," he said with utmost appreciation. Ifaz had given him a lot of space to understand and interpret his characters.

Thanks to them, he not only performed at his best but also had a blast whilst doing so, he added. "Apart from these three staunch, stoic supporters, Siraj and his ever-supportive troop were just amazing! Although backstage crew more often than not, go unnoticed, only a cast (in this instance, myself) really knows the yeomen service they carry out. For everything they did for me, I'm truly grateful," he said.

"Although the play dealt with some large issues such as morality and faith etc., to me, the real beauty of the play (especially as all the roles are played by one person) is how it depicts the various states of mind and roles must play or go through in a lifetime; be it, victim, survivor, or the little bit of divinity within each of us, it just wouldn't have been as potent if played by multiple people," he elaborated.

It shows how human beings are capable of the wonderful and amazing, as well as the horrible and heinous.

"It's also amazing how such archetype characters like God and the devil, who we've visualised in our heads anyway, in the play, are humanised to the extent of having specific idiosyncrasies and eccentricities," he said.

The ending of this "one and ten minute joke" although not conventionally happy, winds up giving each his/her due. Billy gets the last laugh as he manages to outwit the devil one last time and do something really worthwhile for the first time in his life by ensuring that all his loved ones make it to heaven, he explained.

Also, though some may have found the play to be quite insulting and even blasphemous at times, Marsh has a different take on it. "Although certain parts of the play can be quite offensive to some, having really analysed the script, I don't think creating controversy or poking fun at any particular community was the writer's motive at all. I think it had more to do with making people question their belief systems and discover a truth for themselves," he said.

"My co-star 'the mop' cannot go unmentioned as it helped bring life to most of my characters," he said adding, "it was quite ironic how something as ordinary and simple as a mop, was what Billy used to describe some of the most important people in his life!" This was true of everything about the play actually. Ifaz was insistent that the lighting (by Michael and Priyanka Holsinger), music (by Ranil Goonawardene and Lalindra) and even props were carefully selected and only used if absolutely necessary.

"We made a collective, creative decision to include a song in the final scene (even though it was not scripted) because, we wanted to give each of the six acts a distinct personality of its own and so thought, the song could only enhance the scene especially as it was "Billy Markham's Wedding' after all," he said.

Whilst on that subject I was curious to find out why it was called Billy's wedding when it was in fact the Devil's. To which Marsh revealed, "it's the author's way of cluing in the audience to final twist in the play, because as it eventually turn out, it was Billy that got married to the devil and not Billy's "one true love", thus making it in fact 'his' wedding.

Marsh's captivating performance was met with pin drop silence from a mesmerized audience, from the start right up to the close of his performance (except where their reaction was expected of course).

From the very first line he uttered in an authentic southern drawl, we just knew it was going to be something special…extraordinary even…and that it was!