By Duvindi Illankoon

Asked if they relate to the material, the cast of the upcoming ‘Freddy: The Sketch Show’ wrinkle their noses uncertainly. “Well, I did find a fly in my soup once,” offers Kovindu De Saram. He’s referring to the eponymous ‘Fly in the Soup’, one of seven short sketches that will go live at the Lionel Wendt from October 9-12. Promising to be ‘irrationally rational’, the show is produced by StageLight&Magic Inc. with skits written by Feroze Kamardeen.

Audiences can expect plenty of laughs (and, given the absurdist theme, hopefully little to relate to) from a playwright who has made a name writing stories that strike close to home. Feroze needs little introduction. Even infrequent visitors to the theatre know Chaminda Pusswedilla and the parallel universe of Arsikland that he created in ‘Thank You For Voting’, a political commentary so unmissable that even those it satirized had to come and watch.

The ‘Freddy’ series gave voice to a new generation of stand-up comedians, who managed to entertain and sometimes offend, as comedy should. More recently Feroze himself returned to the  stage in ‘Grow Up Nana’, a one-man play that he wrote and played the titular character of.

‘Nana’ is what he is also called, affectionately, by his younger friends and protegees at StageLight&Magic Inc. (SLM). With ‘Freddy: The Sketch Show’, SLM is testing a leaner production model that they hope will make the mammoth task of staging a theatre production more palatable for both cast and crew. By putting together a programme of short, snappy sketches, SLM is looking to cut down on the preparation time while still delivering a high-quality show.

The production team of six is led by Ashan Munasinghe and Virgil Thomas, leading a talented cast of familiar faces in English theatre – Niren Neydorff, Dilini Perera, Chamat Arambawela, Kovindu de Saram, Dhehara Waidyasekara and Shazad Synon.

The skits veer in increasingly absurd directions and although carrying the ‘Freddy’ branding (which SLM now uses as an umbrella for their comedy productions), this show will not contain any element of stand-up for which earlier ‘Freddy’ shows were known. Instead, the cast of six will rotate through the skits with each actor taking on three – four roles.

The skits were chosen by Virgil and Ashan from the vault of a rather prolific Feroze – a playwright who seems to have kept both his attention and creativity intact in the age of digital distraction. They’ve enjoyed adapting them for the stage. “Because the skits are so short, there is no real character arc,” explains Virgil, giving them a lot of creative leeway to adapt the script as they wish.

Feroze, for his part, has stayed flexible and encouraging of new interpretations. “It was very easy for us to absorb what Nana’s vision was and then take it forward. It’s different to what he would’ve done but his vision is there and the characters are his – we are trying to portray it in our own way,” Virgil says.

The stories, while unusual, may remind the audience of incidents past. In ‘Bank Robbery’, for instance, bureaucracy reigns supreme as a bank robber is foiled by a no-nonsense manager who insists he must first complete the necessary paperwork.  In ‘Hospital Check-In’, someone mistakes a hospital for a hotel and insists on checking in (putting the ‘hospital’ in hospitality, so to speak).

‘The Operation Theatre’, the avid theatre-goer may remember from its last outing in 2016 alongside ‘Fly in The Soup’. ‘MasterMind’, ‘Mystic Marriage Service’ and ‘Return to Sender’ round out the show.

Working with a “very funny cast” helped to bring in new perspectives and add more depth to characters who need to make a mark in a very short time, say Ashan and Virgil. The cast’s youngest, Dhehara Waidyasekara, doesn’t consider herself to be so funny though – although she is working among some of the funniest people in Colombo. “I usually get serious roles. Comedy can be a challenge,” she says soberly before perking up, “but I love a challenge!” ‘Freddy’ has a way of bringing out her funny side, she says. Dhehara is in four skits and this is her first ‘Freddy’. “Nana’s skits are very well thought out and there are all these connections embedded in the subtext. So it’s very satisfying to notice those little things as you’re moving through rehearsal.”

The timing of the production (rehearsals started in late August) meant that SLM handpicked the cast from those they knew would be able to play off each other and make it work. “We knew their work, and we knew they would be able to adapt to taking on multiple roles quickly,” says Ashan. In a way, the short production time has been a boon – “we definitely don’t want them peaking too early by knowing the material too well, especially since there are less lines to learn,” explains Virgil.

Dilini Perera and Niren Neydorff are old hands returning to an SLM production. Niren returns to the stage after a brief hiatus, while Dilini was last in SLM’s adaptation of ‘Reasons To Be Pretty’ and was balancing rehearsals for two productions at the time of the interview.  She’s enjoying stepping into sketch comedy, loving to get to play “these quirky, ridiculous characters. It’s very fun and I get to tap into my manic side a little better” adding that it’s nice to “reset again and again in one show.”

Rounding off the cast with Chamat Arambawela is Shazad Synon, who says of taking on four roles – “Performing a set of sketches is different because you’re not giving one line of energy throughout. It works better when we’re not taking ourselves too seriously.”

That’s the invitation to theatre-goers from StageLight&Magic when ‘Freddy: The Sketch Show’ goes live – don’t be so serious, come and have some good laughs.

The show will run from October 9-12 at the Lionel Wendt from 7.30 p.m. onwards. Tickets are available on
www.boxoffice.lk and www.stagelightandmagic.com 

 

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