Comedy has been the go-to genre for the Coimbatore Book Club Theatre Group (CBC), what with supper theatre catching on in the city and farce seeming to be the most well-received at the dinner table. Bringing in a little adult humour into their latest production, CBC has adapted a translated version of Daniel Fo’s one-act play, The Virtuous Burglar, as a small-scale production. Dubbing it one of the funniest scripts that they have read, director Monisha Mathur tells us that she had initially looked forward to directing the play within a proper theatre space—lights, additional props and the works, but then decided to stick with the supper-theatre format that they popularised in the city. “Supper theatre offers an intimate setting, unlike large-scale productions. People get a chance to interact with the cast and with other members of the audience and it creates a feeling of community,” says Monisha, who last directed the play Madhu Memsaab.
A narrative that traces an evening in the life of a burglar on his latest ‘shopping trip’, the 50-minute production that will be showcased at Eatalley is a tale of romance, adultery and hypocrisy, featuring lovers, spouses and the burglar’s wife. “I came across the play based on a suggestion from an actor belonging to The Madras Players. The plot is one of the most relatable stories since it deals with common life themes like double-standards and self-righteousness and how individuals react in the face of these situations,” shares Sapna Umamaheswar, the assistant director.
Distinctly different from their previous plays, The Virtuous Burglar will make use of multiple props created for the production and an extensive array of sound effects. While the play does deal with adult issues, the average age of the cast is 22, with the youngest actor, Liza Desai, barely over 18. “We had multiple auditions before we zeroed in on the final actors,” shares Monisha. The youngest cast that the troupe has worked with, the play will also feature familiar amateur faces like Somy Sridas who are regulars in CBC’s productions.
Rs 600. At Eatalley. On May 5. 6 pm.