CHENNAI: Five short plays, a lot of nudge moments with your partner and a bag full of on-the-face comedy is what one can expect at Plays, Love, This, That, Etc — a collection of short plays directed by theatre artist-cum-director Amit Singh. Launching his own production house Royal Flush Productions with these fun-filled plays, Amit Singh, Sarvesh Sridhar and Sabnam Gafoor talk to City Express about their new venture.
“Launching my own production house is very special and having these five short plays lined up is even more so,” says Amit who has been a theatre artiste for 13 years. The cast comprises Amit Singh, Sarvesh Sridhar, Akshay Yesodharan, Sabnam Gafoor, Shravan Ramakrishnan, Jayanth, Monisha Prakash and Najla Padiyath.
All the five plays are adaptations of American playwrights Cherie Vogelstein (All about Al; Date with a Stranger) and David Ives’ works (Philadelphia; Sure Thing; An Honest Question). What’s common about all the five plays? “Well, for starters, they’re all set in a coffee shop backdrop. The setting is the same and all these plays are weird, funny, and wacky and deal with relationships, love, this and that,” shares Amit.
The plays are to be staged in Indian English or more specifically Tanglish. “I have added a lot of personal experiences and in a generic sense. I have localised the way we speak; that’s very personal to me, and there will definitely be personal references in performances,” he says.
Sarvesh Sridhar who’s also a part of the production house explains, “This is more like a ‘leave your brains at home’ kind of a comedy. People are definitely going to enjoy it. Even if you’re single, you’re definitely going to enjoy every moment.” With no inspirations and idols, the group says they look for inspiration from within. “It’s not necessary to have a person for an inspiration. We look within,” says Amit.
A lot of fun and intense work is how they call their rehearsal sessions. “Most of us have worked with each otherbefore. And the topic itself is fun. So, we’re bound to have a great time during rehearsals. But it also means intense work because we have to portray the essence of the story in 15 minutes!” explains Amit.
Agreeing with him, Sabnam says, “Very true! In fact, I found this to be initially very challenging. I’ve only done full-fledged dramas and this was totally new to me. But I think it’s come out well.” What’s their take on the English drama scene in Chennai? Pat comes their reply! “Talent-wise we are on a par with any other major city. The only problem is that we don’t have a proper stage. Carnatic music, dance and Tamil dramas have their sabhas. But when it comes to English plays, we lack a proper space,” laments Amit.
Talking about choosing theatre as a full time career option, Sarvesh adds, “Look, the truth is you can’t earn a living by being a full-time theatre artist. But if you really have the passion for it, anything is possible!”
Catch them live today at from 7:15 pm. Tickets are priced at `300. For details, visit bookmyshow.com