CHENNAI : In October, when city-based theatre group Theatrekaaran and art promoter Vinay Grandhi Productions announced the premier of their Tanglish comedy play ‘Wild Tales’, it created quite a buzz among the city’s theatre and arts circle for several reasons, including film actor-cum-politician Sarath Kumar’s theatre debut.
“We want to revive theatre and stage by making it more accessible and enjoyable for everyone. When I heard the script, I thought this was ideal because it was one hell of a fun, wild and entertaining ride! Also, I am here not for the money, but for my passion for theatre,” said the actor earlier during a media interaction.
CE had the chance to catch the show, which had enough heart and passion to make us laugh on a Sunday evening, at the Music Academy. “I come from a theatre family. When Sarath said he was going to be part of a theatre show, I was pleasantly surprised. I hope we get to share the stage sometime in the future,” said Raadhika Sarathkumar while addressing the audience.As the screens went up and the artistes began performing under the stage lights, the audience were taken on a comical and zany ride.
Wild Tales was a compilation of four short stories, that included a vault robbery, murder mystery, love story and a horror musical. “Our family has been patrons of the theatre for decades. We found this concept refreshing and quirky. There were few glitches in the premiere, but I am sure it will be rectified when they stage it again,” shared Janakiraman, a 58-year-old.
The play incorporated several genres of drama including musical theatre in its performance and Sriram Jeevan, director, Theatrekaaran said that it is important to think and present out-of-the-box concepts to the audience. “Thinking out-of-the-box has become mandatory. The audience gets bored even if that they hear a single cliche dialogue. So, everything from lights, dialogues to costumes have to be different. We are trying to understand what works for them,” he told CE on the sidelines of the event.
“The turnout for the play was really good and we are planning to take the play to different places like Coimbatore and Madurai. A completely tweaked English version of the play will be presented in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru,” he added.
Tailor-made for audience
Wild Tales was a compilation of four short stories, that included a vault robbery, murder mystery, love story and a horror musical. Sriram Jeevan, director, Theatrekaaran said out-of-the-box ideas are mandatory as any cliched dialogues or set up bore the audience. The group is also planning to take the play to Coimbatore, Madurai, New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru