• My Favourite Things.....
• Laugh your sides out
• The moment of truth
• 'Eyes' for the blind
• In the middle of the night!
• Cool Britania Style
• A song for the child servant
• 
• 

My Favourite Things.....

By Aysha Rafiq

Switch on to YA Cafe on TNL every Thursday, and you will see Nimmie Harasgama, taking you on gastronomic journeys throughout Asia in just half an hour. Or, if you watched Anna Weiss or Still Magnolias, you couldn't have missed her up there on stage. She loves Giorgio Armani's clothes and collects school reports. And that's not the least of it.

Favourite Movie:
Pulp Fiction. I saw it when I was in England a long time ago. I like the way it's been filmed, with a lot of abstract visuals. For example, the parts where they imply the girl's addiction, but never really show it. It was a very refreshing change from mainstream cinema.

Favourite meal:
Sea food. I love lobster and prawns and crabs, and just anything else that comes from the sea. Actually, anything that helps me to avoid eating meat. When I was in England I had to cook for myself, so I know how to make most of the food myself. Also, I used to watch my mom cook, so I'm not that bad at it. (So, does the kitchen look like a whirlwind hit it, after she's done?) Noooo, I'm very tidy.

Favourite colour:
I love white. I wouldn't actually wear it a lot, but hmmm, okay, for example, I'd love to be in a white room. It's a very peaceful and calming colour.

Favourite book:
'Skinny Legs And All.' I think it's by Tom Robbins. It's about how people see the end of the world coming, but it's set in different centuries. One of my close friends got it as a present and I grabbed it from her. It's a totally hilarious book. I laughed from the first page onwards, and I don't think I've ever laughed so much while reading a book.

Favourite place:
I don't really have a favourite place. Oh, wait, the Sinharaja forest.

I went there to do a documentary. It's amazing. You live in Colombo with all the dust and the grime, and you could never think that Sri Lanka could have such a beautiful tropical rain forest. It's so full of lush greenery, and indigenous animals, and you can hear all these animal sounds. It was even better because I didn't get bitten by any leeches. I went fully prepared in long pants, and covered with citronella oil and stuff.

Favourite smell:
I love the smell of jasmines, it's so peaceful. (Again?). I don't know, it's just that my life is so hectic, that I like to have as much peace in my life as possible. If I could fill my house with flowers, I'd probably pick jasmines.

Favourite journey:
Well, there isn't really anywhere in particular. But I love flying. I just love going on planes. But I don't want to sound like a child. I've been flying since I was three years old, and I'm just so used to it.

Favourite possession:
Well, I'm not really materialistic. Make sure you put that in, ha ha. So, there isn't anything I couldn't throw out. (Nothing?) Okay, if you really want something, I've saved up my school reports since I was five years old. Make sure you say you forced me into saying that.

Favourite time of day:
When it's time to sleep of course.(Predictable?) If I didn't work, I'd probably sleep in the afternoons as well.

Favourite fantasy:
I've lived all my fantasies. No, don't say that. Let's just say it's nothing that can go into print. Figure it out.

Favourite place:
I love the ocean. I just adore walking on the beach. It's so calm and peaceful. I guess it's also because we are an island country, and the ocean is a part of our lives. We're so lucky to be surrounded by it. I love going snorkelling, and given the chance, I would definitely live by the ocean some day. Whether the waves are crashing and it's really, rough, or whether it's calm and clear and crystal blue and you can see bottom of it, I love it all the same.

Laugh your sides out

"Catch Me If You Can,'' a smash-hit comedy thriller, produced by Derek Nimmo and written by Jak Weinstock and Willie Gilbert is to be performed by well-known actors of British stage and television such as Christopher Strauli, Ray Lonnen, Deborah Grant etc.

The play will be performed at the Golden Ballroom of the "Lanka Oberoi'' on October 15,16 and 17. It is presented by The Lanka Oberoi in association with British Airways.

Daniel Corban seems to have everything; a good job, prospects, good looks, a brand new wife and an idyllic summer house honeymoon in the Catskill Mountains, New York State. The only trouble is that his wife has gone missing!!! Take a distressed husband, an eccentric Detective, a secretive Priest, a Blonde, a Redhead, a body or two - give the whole mix a vigorous stir, and Catch Me If You Can is the bewildering and beguiling result. The play is both deftly funny and decidedly scarey.

Honeymooning Daniel Corman is played by Christopher Strauli. His television work includes A Family At War, Angels, Warship, Owen MD And Edward VII (in which he played Sir Winston Churchill). It was, however, in the series Raffles with Anthony Valentine as the gentleman thief, that he had his first big break playing the part of Bunny.

Christopher became a household name in Great Britain when he starred as Norman Binns in the hit hospital comedy series Only When I Laugh.

He had a particular success playing Ratty in Alan Bennett's National Theatre production of The Wind In The Willows.

The eccentric Detective Inspector Levine is played by Ray Lonnen. An apt piece of casting, as for 10 years Ray played a Detective in the long-running BBC series Z Cars. His many other television series include The New Professionals, Heartbeat, The Baron and The Saint. He played the title role in the hugely popular television series Harry's Game.

Deborah Grant plays Elizabeth Corban. She is probably best known on television for playing John Nettles' wife in Bergerac.

She recently played Lady Chiltern in Sir Peter Hall's record-breaking production of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband. Deborah was the original Mrs. Barnum with Michael Crawford in Barnum at the London Palladium. Other West End appearances include the National Theatre production of Bedroom Farce, The Italian Girl and , also for the National Theatre, Watch On The Rhine and Lips.

Her many films include Isadora And Scandal, in which she played Valerie Hobson (Mrs. Profumo).

Father Kelleher is played by Douglas Fielding, who also directs. He has spent two seasons at the National Theatre where classical roles include Macbeth, Henry IV Part II, A Man For All Seasons, each in the title role, and Romeo And Juliet.

Like Ray Lonnen, Douglas Fielding was in Z Cars where he played the role of Alec Quilley for 10 years. Most recently he played Detective Sergeant Roy Quick in Eastenders. Douglas' other television work includes Callan, Softly Softly, Blake's Seven, Juliet Bravo, Angels, Grange Hill, The Bill and many others.

Leonard Fenton is well-known to television afficionados for his role of Dr. Legg in the long-running Eastenders. In the West End he played in two productions by Lindsay Anderson, Chekhov's The Seagull and Ben Travers' last play The Bed Before Yesterday.

On television apart from Dr. Legg, Leonard has appeared in the BBC's Z Cars, Colditz, The Secret Army and Shine On Harvey Moon.

The part of the successful businessman, Everett Parker, is played by American actor David Gilliam. His West End credits include Killing Jessica at the Savoy Theatre and Crazy For You at the Prince Edward Theatre.

The last member of the cast is beautiful Nicola Lander. She is a recent graduate from the Mountview Theatre School and her c.v. is, of course, short. She has played, however, Olivia in Twelfth Night, Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream and appeared in Casualty on BBC television.

More Mirror Magazine * The moment of truth * 'Eyes' for the blind