On mischief, naughtiness, deception and love

PHOTO: K. V. SRINIVASAN

OFFERING VARIETY Stagefright at work

"The rehearsal schedule is crazy," groans Freddie Koikaran of Stagefright, director of FourPlay, a collection of four plays centred around love. "Well, love with a twist, actually."

"It's three people per cast, which means 12 actors. So that's five, or six, days a week of rehearsals." It looks like it's all worth it, though. "These are plays I picked up at different points," says Freddie.

So, when the idea of a festival came up, I thought, why don't I offer variety within my show.

The plays are divided into "Mischief, Naughtiness, Deception and Love." Mischief is "A Way With Words" by Frank. D. Gilroy. It's set in New York, where two best friends are having their annual get-together. Artie and Fred usually catch up on the good old days at these meetings, but this year is different. Artie has a secret about his wife Louise that he simply has to tell Fred. But Louise has a secret too. And so does Fred.

Play two is more bizarre. "Date With A Stranger" by Cherie Vogelstein is about how a man and a woman meet for the first time, in a rather breathtakingly fast-paced date. Moving from coffee to a break up really shouldn't be this easy.

Deception is the theme of "Barry, Betty and Bill" by Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna, an 18-minute play that comes with a rather confusing tag line: Barry loves Betty. Betty loves Bill. Bill doesn't love Barry, and Barry certainly doesn't love Bill. But does Betty love Barry?

And you have to listen carefully if you want to understand anything in play four, which is probably the only one that deals with some form of conventional love. "The Universal Language" by David Ives is about a con artist who tries to trick a gullible young lady out of her money. Unfortunately, for him, things don't go as planned.

"I had a list of about nine different plays, originally" says Freddie, discussing how he made the selection, "and I finally chose these four." "There were many who were concerned about the decision, but at the end of the day, people just want to sit down and enjoy themselves."

The Director's Cut

Freddy Koikaran

Why choose four plays? Besides the fact that they get you a catchy title?

Believe it or not, the title came later! I had these plays already, and loved them all as they were. Then, we wove them together saying, this is `love with a twist.'

Is it important that each play has a distinctive character of its own?

Yes. The challenge here is not so much to stage them well, as it is to make a difference from one play to the next, and still have a common thread running through.

Do you feel comedy reaches out to more people?

Well, yes and no. I think it depends on the kind of comedy. I could do a satire, but that could be too subtle, and maybe the audience won't get it. Slapstick, on the other hand, appeals to everyone.

SHONALI MUTHALALY