Sex, Likes and Pokes, a production by the Bengaluru-based theatre group, Underdog Entertainment, performed to a fully packed house on Sunday evening at Lamakaan. Acting out a conversation between three guys generically named Love, Lust and Lonely, the dialogues were punctuated with the regional–‘isms’ of ‘da’ ‘macha’ and ‘bro’, almost reeking of the metro city.
These three friends set out to seek love the Facebook way and their encounters had the audience literally ROFL. If one ‘hot Smita’ turned out to be a behenji looking for a groom, another ‘interested Natasha’ turned out to be a salesgirl from Amway looking for prospective customers. The ‘like’ button fever, photoshop for display pictures and relentless poking were some of the many characteristics of the online dating world that were portrayed in just the right spirit – to evoke humour through satire. The act flaunted its scriptwriter’s witty monologues through the lead characters.
For instance, it began with Lonely complaining about a woman who slapped him when he tried to help her. “Yes, I am a man and when a man isn’t thinking about sex, he is thinking of...uh...but, I won’t do what you think I was going to for two reasons. Reason number one, I am not from Delhi and reason number two, she was not that hot!”
Wacky and funny, they sure grabbed the audience’s attention. The actors, all in their early 20’s, played their roles with an ease that almost raises suspicions that they in fact identified with their monikers.
“It’s more of an improvisation than rehearsed drama. The three of us are thick friends and we just got up there and talked,” says Arun Nair, who personified Lust.
The act was also a success because it had the right audience. Occasionally bordering on the fine line between poetic license and obscenity, there were many instances were the play could have gone down badly with some, including ticking off a few feminists. But a good comedy is only as good as its audience and in this case, the play couldn’t have asked for a better crowd.
So, does the old-school way of finding love win over online romance? Arun obliterates the question by simply saying, “We don’t give out messages. In fact, we’d be upset if anyone took home a message from this act. It’s simply about the audience having a good time.”
Chris Isaac, a freelance writer who turned up for the play, was enthused about the performance, but had one tiny bone to pick. “It was definitely funny and the script was great. But it was more of a guy’s play.”
Underdog Entertainment was started by Chaitanya Varad, who is also the writer and director of Sex, Likes and Pokes. Quite thrilled with the audience’s response, he said, “We strictly do not take people with prior acting experience. It’s all about spontaneity. We came to Lamakaan two days ago and chose two girls from Hyderabad to play the supporting roles. That’s how we work.”
With heavy Bengaluru lingo, a creative script, young actors and a relatable theme, Sex, Likes and Pokes delivered what it promised – 40 minutes of ribaldry.
