It’s a big day for Dr David Mortimore, the chief neurologist at St Andrew’s Hospital in London. He has to deliver the ‘lecture of the year’ to 100 of the world’s leading physicians. But given that he is a central character in a Ray Cooney comedy — which also features a doctor who enjoys cross dressing, a young man who is not just neurotic but also inebriated, and a wheelchair bound patient who is full of mischief — it’s safe to assume that many things are going to go farcically wrong.
The Madras Players present It Runs in the Family , a situational comedy which was first staged in 1987, and makes its debut in Chennai next weekend. This is the theatre troupe’s third play of the year, following Romeo and Juliet in February and Bonding with Ruskin in June.
The Ray Cooney classic is directed by Nilakantan Nagarathnam (Nilu). “Theatre usually tends to give audiences a lot to think about. But for this one, they can come in with a blank mind and leave with a stomach aching from laughter,” he says.
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The 12-member cast includes Ashley Shillong, Deepa Nambiar, Prashanth Oliver, Roshan Poncha and Gita Nair. “Every character has a comic moment and adds quirkiness; you will remember every person,” says TM Karthik, who plays Dr Mortimore.
Getting the cast right, says Nilu, was the most important challenge. “We had to work on the timing, energy and physicality of the performance,” he adds.
While the city’s stages often host contemporary plays, Nilu says classic scripts are still relevant because, “It’s about taking different playwrights to different milieus. It’s not just about the period in which it is set; comedy transcends time.”
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But haven’t we long debated how an English play, performed by Indian actors will be perceived? “It requires some suspension of disbelief, because there are British references, and the setting itself is English. However, when an Indian director reads it and finds it funny, he can get the actors to bring it alive for the audience as well. You trust the script and the director, and hope the audience will keep laughing throughout,” says Karthik.
S Radhkrishnan, who plays Sir Willoughby Drake, the pompous governor of the hospital board, adds, “Theatre is gender, age and accent agnostic. The idea is to convey the theme and humour of the script; so the challenge lies in the delivery of the lines. Given the beautifully timed comic dialogues, the audience can expect 100 minutes of intrigue and fun.”
It Runs in the Family will be staged from September 22 to 24 (7.15 pm) at The Museum Theatre, Egmore. Suitable for audiences 16 years and above. Donor passes are available at ₹ 200, ₹300 and ₹500 on bookmyshow.com. 9381911977