JOIN USChanging moods on stage
The play, a bittersweet comedy written by Neil Simon and directed by Rishikeh N, was about five couples, set in a hotel suite at The Beverly Hills Hotel in California. The play began on time and although it was for over two hours, it kept the audience strapped to their seats.
The play was divided into four scenes where each scene described the story of a different couple. The first story traced the life of Hannah Warren and William Warren, both from New York City and engaged in a custody battle over their daughter Jenny.
Performed by Surabhi Bhardwaj and Deepak Hariharan, the story was steeped in sharp comments, cynicism and laced with dark humour. Surabhi played an independent, middle-aged, city-bred woman who just can’t make her daughter come home with her because of her stifling behaviour.
On the other hand, Deepak played a sweet and charming newspaper man who left the hustle-bustle of the city behind him and is not comfortable seeing his wife again. The performance was witty but ended on an emotional note with Hannah letting go of Jenny. The second scene was a complete contrast with in-your-face kind of humour.
The story revolved around Marvin who is trying hard to prevent his wife from seeing a hooker. Performed brilliantly by Mukut Chatterjee and Pooja Sampath, the act had the audience in splits of laughter watching Marvin use every trick to prevent his wife from entering the bedroom to see the hooker.
The performance by Mukut was loud and boisterous and generated the maximum laughs from everyone. Pooja provided ample support by playing Mille, an irritated and tired wife of Marvin, who has just landed in LA. “The character of Marvin was supposed to be played by me but unfortunately due to an accident Mukut had to take over,” informed Vikram Hemanathan, the producer.
The other two scenes in the play included a gay couple looking for a date to take along with them and another couple who fight constantly while on vacation which eventually
takes on a nightmarish tone.
All the roles were performed well by actors Prateek Prajosh, Noella Ferrao, Tanvee Ravi and Prateek Prajosh. “The show was extremely funny and I liked the second story in the play,” said Prarthna J, a member of the audience.