An upgraded ‘Chaos by SMS’ returns
The playboy and the old auntie: Indu and Sanwada. Pix by Amila Gamage
The hullabaloo starts when Ram accidently sends an SMS to “Little Black Book”, a contact group of his 13 girlfriends, inviting them all for a ‘dirty weekend’ at his estate bungalow. The message is really meant for his current love interest, Nelum. In a lame attempt to correct his mistake, Ram sends a second text to the group saying that the weekend is ‘off’. To his despair, three women who fail to receive his message turn up at his bungalow for the amorous rendezvous. The confusion feeds on more lies and cover-ups.
Popular playwright and director, Indu Dharmasena’s “Chaos by SMS” is back on stage this year, an adapatation of the play first staged in 2010. With a few changes to the cast and plot to keep up with the times, the comedy promises rib tickling laughter.
Indu defines the whole situation in the play as a commonplace experience in our day-to-day lives. “All of us have sent wrong SMS at some point,” Indu laughs, as confusions on texts is a natural scenario in these modern times. “The whole thing is very light entertainment,” he adds.
Ram Sewalagala, played by Indu is the pampered, spoiled young man. “Ram is just a typical playboy,” he states.
Sanwada Dharmasena takes the role of Gladys Vandabona, the housekeeper of Ram’s estate bungalow who makes such a fuss over her cat. “Gladys knows what Ram is planning and simply follows his instructions,” explains Sanwada. “In fact, she is an old auntie in her 6os’ who looks after the house, Ram and his uncle.”
Edward Pinnawala played by Jaliya Wijewardene, is Ram’s uncle and conspires with him over which lie to tell whom. As Jaliya says, “Edward is a carefree bachelor who is just, in Gladys’s words: eating – sleeping –walking.”
The cast: Getting ready for some SMS fun
The three ‘Black Book’ women who decide to turn up at the bungalow are played by Manuka Wijesinghe in the role of Sepalika, Kamanthi Wickramasinghe as Manel and Saneesha Ramanayake as Nelum, Ram’s latest fling.
Abbasali Rozais takes on the role of Rex Waligoda, Daisy’s husband who does not appear on stage. “Daisy is one of the ‘Black Book’ girls and I happen to see her message from Ram and turn up at the bungalow to sort things out with him. Rex is gullible and just adds to the chaos,” Abbasali explains.
Anushan Selvarajah plays Dr. Pradeep Silva, a young village vet who is called on to attend on Gladys’s cat.
The SAARC Women’s Association, Sri Lanka Chapter will stage a special show of “Chaos by SMS” on November 24 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. Proceeds of the play will be donated to the Courage Compassion Commitment (CCC) Foundation based in Sri Lanka and Australia that provides care and treatment to children afflicted with cancer.
The play will go on the boards on November 25 and 26 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre at 7.30 p.m. Tickets priced at Rs. 2000, Rs.1500, Rs.1000 and Rs.500 (Balcony unreserved) will be available at the venue or via www.lionelwendt.org.
The production is sponsored by Drama Sri Lanka.