“Now that the bread is buttered, we must lie on it, no?” reflected Abraham the notary in one of his more profound moments.
Naturally, the statement provoked one of many roars of laughter from the audience at the Bishops College Auditorium that night, revelling in the humour of Jith Peiris’ latest production Well Mudaliyar…How?
When the play was written in 1934 by E.M.W Joseph- better known as the columnist ‘Sooty Banda’, the caricature of colonial Ceylon with its social hierarchy and quaint rural societies, coupled with a script that was riddled with broken English, the humour worked well with the audience.
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| Rehearsing a scene from the play Anuruddha Fernando and Hans Bilimoria |
Seventy-five years on, Well Mudaliyar…How? seems to have lost none of its appeal, judging by the laughter that erupted frequently throughout the performance. Having been staged many times in the 75-years with well-known thespians such as E.C.B. Wijesinghe and Arun Dias Bandaranaike in the lead roles, this production featured Anuruddha Fernando- large as life and perfect for the role of Abraham the notary.
Following the success of his portrayal of everybody’s favourite politician Chaminda Pusswedilla (Puss), Anuruddha Fernando now seems to be typecast in comic roles that demand excessive use of ‘Singlish’. Nevertheless his performance stood out and well worn jokes and broken English phrases were given a spontaneity which made them feel both original and funny. From his frequent pearls of wisdom- “Life is a kasala thing, no? Like jumping from a frying pan into the deep blue sea”- to the look of intense concentration as he struggled to write an “unanimous” letter and pulled on his “trousers” (two tubes of cloth of about one foot each, with elastic at the top which would show from beneath his sarong) Anuruddha was definitely the star of the show.
Set in a turbulent time for the Mudaliyars of Ceylon whose office was soon to be abolished, the play opens on a domestic scene as the Mudaliyar and his wife (Hans Billimoria and Sashi Mendis) prepare for the arrival of a suitor for their daughter Phyllis (Ashini Fernando). The wily notary, following the wishes of his dead wife, attempts to pair off the mudaliyar’s son Freddy (Brandon Ingram) with his daughter Emily (Dila Weerasinghe). Meanwhile, it comes to light that Phyllis is already in love with Abraham’s son Chandra (Sajith Amendra). After some confusion, all ends well with the children of the mudaliyar being engaged to those of the notary.
Although the plot was by no means intricate, the play was entertaining and refreshing too, suitable for a wide audience- from your 78-year-old grandmother to your seven-year-old cousin. It was nice to see humour which did not depend on crudity. As far as the script was concerned though, a little variety in the humour would have been appreciated- the constant use of broken English for humour became a little monotonous and caused the play to drag at times.
Commendably, although 75 years have lapsed since the creation of the play, not one detail has been modified to suit the times. Everything from the jokes to the sets by Mano Chanmugam and costumes were reflective of the period and therefore were for the most part authentic, aesthetically pleasing and memorable. |
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