Taking a dig at smoking
With an aim to provide information to the public about serious health concerns caused by smoking in a not-so-serious way, Smoke Signals, a play recital, was performed by Madras Players in the City recently leaving the audience rolling in laughter. It was a rib-tickling look at smoking and the seasoned voices of the Madras Players left its mark in the room.
The show started with artistes dressed up as Native Americans, singing the song of Hiawatha with singer Alan Rego playing the bull horn. Rego performed a couple of more songs like Smoke gets in your eyes and Smoke, smoke that last cigarette with characteristic vigour.
Smoke Signals is a collection of stories, anecdotes, quotes, music, lyrics by King James, Oscar Wilde, Longfellow, Lin Yu Tan, Lewis Carroll, John Steinbeck and Winston Churchill that explored the bright and dark sides of lighting up a cigarette without preaching.
To light the fire or kick the butt? was the main message behind the event that was communicated in an unusual way. It offered much food for thought even as it provided entertainment and was more of a light-hearted take on smoking. Kanchan, a professional who watched the show, said, “It was a great performance, I just loved P C Ramakrishnan perform. I have not laughed this much before on the pros and cons of smoking. It was amazingly hilarious. Some excerpts were recited very well.”
There were also some readings from excerpts like the famous conversation between the caterpillar and Alice in Alice in Wonderland and various other limericks and quotes. Veteran actors P C Ramakrishnan, Vishalam Ekambaram and Mithran Devanesen, who also directed the event, did a class act while Sharanya Nair shone in the passage she essayed from Alice in Wonderland. Her rendition of ‘It’s a wonderful world’ was met with a demand for an encore.
The proceeds of the event will go to Anjar Project. The reading was followed by an interactive session with director Mithran Devanesen who answered various questions about the performance, the Anjar Project and also his own battle with cancer.
