It was a cocktail of theatre and conversation at the launch of the MetroPlus Theatre Festival. The evening that was...

Barrymore's ghost might have been a rather macabre choice for an opening night. After all, he was sentenced to a "purgatorial existence" by the theatre gods "as penance for his abandonment of the theatre and the squandering of his talents in the pursuit of fame."

And let that be a lesson to anyone who thinks more about champagne and roses than drama and scripts.

Although, admittedly, the frills are rather alluring. At a party at Aqua at The Park, the directors, cast and crew of Chennai-based theatre houses cheerfully dived headfirst into a cocktail of theatre and conversation as the MetroPlus Theatre Festival kicked off. After all, long and gruelling rehearsals do deserve some kind of reward.

The gods, however, thought otherwise. Or, at least in the case of John Barrymore, they did. "The whole deal is, he's dead, and has to come back as a ghost," said actor Karthik Srinivasan, after he delivered the monologue `Barrymore's Ghost' to the audience. "I chose it because it's got to do with theatre," he added, explaining how John Barrymore was one of the theatre greats of his time, famous in particular, for his depiction of Hamlet. This monologue, written by Jason Miller, chronicles his rise to fame and the relationships that were forged, and broken, along the way.

Supporting theatre

Welcoming the guests at the launch event, Mr. N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, said, "The theatre festival is our way of supporting English theatre in the city which, in the recent past, seems to have attracted a growing audience, particularly among the young." He added: "We hope that the The MetroPlus Theatre Festival will raise the profile of English theatre in the city. In the long run, we believe that this form of theatre will benefit and improve from events such as these."

Mr. Ram also answered another frequently asked question — whether the festival is a one-off event or whether it will become a regular feature. "Although we have not taken a final call on this, we hope that The MetroPlus Theatre Festival will become an annual feature and an important event in the city's calendar," he said.

Yamuna, from The Madras Players, who is directing a play that will premiere at the festival, discussed how The Hindu and the Madras Players have had a long association, including their collaboration on the first national play writing competition in English in 1993.

According to actor P. C. Ramakrishna, an event like this takes theatre out of the snob circuit and hands it right back to the mass audience, where it rightfully belongs. The festival has been drawing new audiences, some of whom have never watched any theatre, thus creating a new audience base for the city's theatre companies.

And as the party wound up, only some of the actors went home. Some went straight back to rehearsals. Director Michael Muthu, for instance, did a quick disappearing act soon after his cast excused themselves for a midnight rehearsal of Evam's "Biloxi Blues".

Evidently, no matter how late the evening, or how many cocktails you've downed, the show does go on. The theatre gods must be pleased with the discipline.

SHONALI MUTHALALY