Guess who’s back? It’s Pusswedilla
Feroze Kamardeen: Taking on a new challenge with an old favourite
Feroze Kamardeen is a man who runs on intuition. Time and time again, his “gut” has served him well- from picking out non-performers who have become stand-up comedians, to making casting choices which morphed young actors into memorable roles and turning witty scripts into politically charged satires foreshadowing many of Sri Lanka’s political ups and downs. In 2014, his most beloved character Pusswedilla left the political “stage” with a final rousing, ominous speech, a few months shy of a game changing Presidential election. As Feroze along with the frenzied audiences watched “Puss” take his final bow, not even he thought Sri Lanka would see the slick-smiled character return to the stage.
Next month, fans of the franchise can once again look forward to seeing the “friend of people, son of the village, father of democracy, brother of freedom, cosin of human rights and close relashen of meediya freedom” back in action. Based on the fictitious Arsikland, it will bring back the characters from the Pusswedilla franchise in a fresh new way– a musical. “Arsikland” promises to bring the familiar and new together with its signature brand of blunt humour packed into over 20 songs and a fresh take on several of its characters.
“I love musicals,” Feroze divulges, despite never having taken part in one before. He has had success in the past with successful musical productions such as Hamlet at Elsie’s Bar (2009) and the Pusswedilla and Freddy franchises which have included many musical numbers in their scripts.
The idea for the play was unintentional. When political chaos engulfed the country late last year, Feroze was overseas. “It was shocking and upsetting,” he says and rather than taking to social media to vent his frustration like most, he began writing angry, angsty scripts. The idea to stage a rugby match between two teams from Arsikland materialized. With their eyes on the prize- the Prime Minister’s chair, what started as a game between the ArsikCity Butterflies Sports Club and the Kotaudagama ChilliPowders Sports Club became a full length play.
Based on events that took place over the last three months, “Arsikland” will feature the characters too in different territory; namely the studio of reporter Robert Westernthinking of CNN (Carrying Nothing Newsworthy). A new young cast taking on the iconic characters of Chaminda Pusswedilla, Cyril Nitharamasuffering and others will add a new dimension to the characters in the current political landscape.
Handling the music, which makes up almost 80% of the production, is Nishantha Warnakulasuriya, taking on the unique musicality that adds to the play’s unusual structure of flashbacks, parodies and characterization.
Feroze and the cast have the added challenge of bringing back an old favourite with very new faces. Since the beginning, the franchise has seen three different actors cast as Pusswedilla,Westernthinking and two Nitharamasufferings. “It’s a lot like the James Bond series,” explains Feroze; the true allure of the franchise is in the characters themselves. And as the bleach hits the national suits and the cast brush up on their best politician smiles, Arsikland’s creator is looking forward to his audiences meeting a different side to their old frenemy- Puss.
StageLight&Magic Inc presents Arsikland! The Musical from March 29th – April 2 at the Lionel Wendt. Tickets will be available from March 14 at the Lionel Wendt. You can also watch The Greatest Rugby Match onStageLight&Magic Inc.’s Youtube channel.