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Entertainment
Delightfully maniacal
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Superb literary qualities saved the Stella Maris College production, ``Arsenic and Lace," from becoming a meaningless farce, writes ELIZABETH ROY.
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"Arsenic and Old Lace"... good effort from the students.— Pic. by R. Ragu.
ONCE IN a while it is a relief to be able to take in a play that doesn't drown you in the complexities of the universe you live in. Joseph Kesselring's ``Arsenic and Old Lace" is a maniacal piece of writing. It is delightful, wholesome and hopelessly irresponsible. And yet it is saved from becoming a meaningless farce by its superb literary qualities. Using the association of ideas and juxtaposition, preposterous scenes spin in and out of its script.
The play is about a bunch of enchanting lunatics, which makes up the Brewster family. Grandfather Brewster was a brilliant doctor who tried new cures on the dead. At some point he crossed the fine line that separates genius from the insane. The loony family that lived it up in the old Brewster mansion is now headed by the aunts, Abby and Martha. Their mission statement is to take care of people when they are lonely and old and in need of help. Even if that meant their peace and joy came from a glass of elderberry wine laced with arsenic and strychnine. Till sundown the person/body would rest inside the window seat. Then dressed ceremoniously in funereal black, with candles and all, the aunts would come down for the funeral service (conducted strictly according to the denomination of the `cared for') before burying him in the cellar and putting fresh flowers on each grave every Sunday.
The aunts also take care of their nephew who speaks in battle terms, blows his bugle day and night and sincerely believes that he is Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy enjoys digging the Panama Canal in the basement and burying yellow fever victims, of whom there have been an even dozen till date!
Jonathan, another nephew, is evil and most wanted according to the police notice. His tally has come even with that of his aunts.' He has killed thirteen, and is very distressed that the thirteenth does not technically qualify, because he actually died of 'other' causes! The cops being reasonably sane refuse to believe the stories and counter-stories of Abby, Martha, Teddy or Jonathan. They flatly refuse to go down to the cellar to verify the twelve graves there. Instead they decide to commit the whole lot to the Happy Dale Home for the mentally ill. But then Mr. Witherspoon, head of Happy Dale, has no family and is lonely, giving the aunts an opportunity to care (and incidentally get an edge over Jonathan by adding the thirteenth to their tally).
In all this confusion is a third nephew, Mortimer, a drama critic who is convinced that he is slowly going mad, surrounded as he is by all the madness and mayhem, only to be saved with the knowledge that after all he is not a real Brewster. But then that's another crazy twist to the story.
The Stella Maris College production of ``Arsenic and Old Lace," which went on boards at the Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium earlier this week, proceeded without a hitch. Overcoming the constraints of academic scheduling they slapped the play into shape in just three weeks. Guiding them once again this year was Yog Japee who believes that college plays should be a wholly student effort and a learning experience for them and an opportunity to draw out their creative talent. He stepped back and encouraged them to come up with their own ideas and designs. He also made sure that it would remain a low-budget, in-house student activity.
The sets were basic and functional single units of windows and frames and a segment of staircase that defined the spaces. The furniture was old and solid and rough and created a sense of time. The lights were sensitive and well designed and executed with dexterity. The costumes were charming and showed character. And the cast projected their voices well and revealed a sense of timing particularly with tricky moves. There was character delineation as the actors worked in particular mannerisms and character traits. In that respect the production rose above the average student production.
However, there was some key ingredient missing, because had it been played right, the production would have had the audience helplessly howling and falling out of their seats in laughter. Perhaps the soul of the play needed energising. Perhaps the lunacy had to be further exaggerated. The Brewster Sisters could have been made older and played strong and intelligent and mad. Their uniquely different perspectives should have been brought into focus their dignity, their blatant honesty, their ability to perceive. The two strong personalities should have been a riot on stage. That would have given the play the pace (not physical), which it lacked.
Another drawback was the lack of response to the nuances within the language. A literary play in particular needs a set of actors extremely sensitive and responsive to the cadences that will open up communication.
Susheel Gandhi who played Mortimer did it admirably. She was in total control of her character and language that for the most part one did not even realise she was acting. Shanas as Abby also came through in parts.
Again the critics' perspective must necessarily shift a little when one acknowledges Tushanti Selvarajah and Batool Aliakbar Lehry as the student directors. And kudos to a college that has the guts to put their trust in their students and give them a chance to create and evolve.
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