 
It was definitely a storm to remember when the Punchi theatre cooked
up weathering dramatic madness in the form of ‘Stormy Weather’ recently.
Presented by CentreStage Productions, Jehan Aloysius the director and
scriptwriter for this dark and mysterious production brilliantly put
together a dazzling set courtesy VideoImage and other sponsors.
With stunning performances by Amesh De Silva as Noel, Michelle Herft
as Therese with an exceptional character portrayal of Zahabiya Adamaly
as Rachel, ‘Stormy Weather’ was effectively woven superbly with the
chemistry between the characters switching back and forth. The story
revolves around an abusive and violent man called Noel who is stabbed to
death in his bed.
The inspector (Mario De Soyza) handling the case tries to find out
who did it by interrogating everyone from Noel’s tortured wife Therese
to Noel’s mistress Avanti (Dilrukshi Fonseka) and even Noel’s alcoholic
sister Charmaine (Shanuki De Alwis).
However, he believes everyone is a suspect and the audience witnesses
some shocking ‘Dark Cinema’ scenes of the house and the three women in
unison committing the murder. However, the inspector gets suspicious
that there is definitely the murderess in the house but the question is
who? Could it have been Therese who had been at the brunt of brutality
of her husband for his abusive ways which also befell their daughter
Rachel as well and maybe she lost control in the end?
Was it gold-digging and feisty Avanti who wanted a rich guy to help
save her brother out of debt? Or was it Charmaine who turned her back
against her own brother after he accused her of affairs she didn’t have
and probably wanted a sizeable inheritance?
The wife, sister and mistress are the ‘usual suspects’ making it
obvious that Noel wasn’t everyone’s best friend even though he is meant
to be just another ‘awful man’. However, after the death of Noel,
Avanti’s car wouldn’t start, she scares Rachel (who at this point sees
ghosts) and then Charmaine invites her (with no other choice) for her to
stay over at the house.
Therese finds out and has a massive confrontation with Avanti for
obvious reasons. However, it is when Therese calls Avanti a ‘slut’ that
Avanti slaps Therese in front of Rachel. With all that’s going on,
suddenly the night Avanti stays over she is discovered murdered the next
morning, again stabbed to death.
Now the inspector is furious and knows that there are a few suspects
but after questioning them, discovers that the musicbox that Therese
gave Rachel has something to do with the whole murder. Finally, the play
ends when Rachel admits to the murders by questioning her mother:’Mother,
they hurt you and I don’t want to see you cry, am I a bad person?”The
‘Film Noir’ concept in this piece of theatre is good with action
sequences and great takes of near-believable scenes that are sure to
make you turn in your bed. The suspense is built properly but it also
can be difficult to absorb.
This play is definitely for the faint-hearted but it’s a great piece
of theatre to see how Sri Lankan theatre has progressed.Jehan has
outdone himself with a superb cast, a great stage set and a wonderful
culmination of technology with 3D imaging and a simply good script.
Also, the fashions in black and white were definitely dazzling making
‘Stormy Weather’ a rare theatrical treat. |
