There are moments in everyone’s life when one hopes to go back to a past incident and say the right words. It is next to impossible in real life but this idea takes shape on stage as part of the play Sure Thing. This play is part of the production All in the Timing, a collection of David Ives’ seven short plays by city-based theatre group The Lord Chamberlain’s Men (LCM). Directed by Riyaz Usman, these diverse one-act comedies has 10 actors and will be staged at Phoenix Arena on April 22 and 23.
Light-hearted comedy
The unique feature is that it has timing as the common theme. “This production is set in 1980 but has been constantly updated through times. It has timing as a concept and looks at human relationships from a comic angle,” shares Riyaz. He observes the group was planning to stage a light-hearted comedy. “Our last few plays have been heavy on content. We wanted to do something light both for the actors as well as the audience. We wanted the audience to relax and enjoy their evening,” smiles Riyaz.
He shares the play Sure Thing is his favourite too. “The play showcases two youngsters in a restaurant. Whenever the guy says something stupid, he gets an option to go back to his lines and correct it.
A scene from the play ‘Sure Thing’
This entire play is a constant correction of their conversation and the sequence is perfect,” he smiles and adds, “We always wish if we could go back in time and correct ourselves. Imagine having a second chance when we have done or said something stupid; what happens if that’s a possibility is what we show.”
While In The Philadelphia , a man discovers that he’s entered a strange pocket of the universe where the only way to get what he wants is to ask for the opposite, Foreplay shows one man and his three dates showing up at the same time. With a set time of 90 minutes, each play is between 12-15 minutes. Founded in 2004, LCM began with six artistes. “After three years, we are now around 25 artistes and have staged nine productions and done 35 shows,” states Riyaz.
“We don’t stick to one genre and had experimented with history ( Gagan Damama Bajyo , a musical on the life of Bhagat Singh and The Diary of Anne Frank ), contemporary issues ( The Last Letter , based on the suicide note of Rohith Vemula), literary adaptations ( 1984, A Christmas Carol ), fantasy ( Wonderland/Neverland ), slapstick comedies.” The group’s aim is to bring back the charm of storytelling on stage. “The actors of LCM range with a theatre experience of zero to 25 years and are mostly working professionals with a passion to act. The experienced artistes of LCM has acted in a variety of regional theatre like Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi and English. Our youngest actor is just five years old,” smiles Riyaz.
(Tickets: Bookmyshow.com)
