We last saw Denver Anthony Nicholas in Ramses, in September 2021. Since then the director, choreographer and playwright has presented quite a few plays in-between including and Deadly 7 — An Anthology, both more recently in May. On July 2 and 3, however, Denver returns to the stage with two musicals, And, Scene and Rock — The Way To Glory, being presented this time around by the brand new Poochu’s Productions.
“And, Scene is based on true events and is about the makings of a play in Chennai’s current theatre scenario. Post the subsequent lockdowns, my partners Studio D5 and I (Nicholas Productions) came together to form Poochu’s, and the musical And, Scene follows the story of how we met, how we came together and how we are now working alongside each other. So, in effect, it is a musical about a musical. A 22-strong cast featuring actors, singers and dancers will be performing beside a four-piece live band and the one hour, forty-five minute long performance is open to audiences of all ages,” begins Denver as we catch up with him during a rehearsal. The two plays will be staged back to back with alternating time slots on July 2 and 3 and while And, Scene is a family friendly production, Rock — The Way To Glory, comes with a trigger warning and is open for viewing only to adults.
“Rock — The Way To Glory is the tale of three people, who play the protagonists, who have undergone a lot of trauma in their lives and how they find rock music and it eventually heals them. They meet at a support group and discover their shared love for diverse rock bands including Queen, Aerosmith and Nickelback and they decide to take part in something called Conquest of the Bands and they win it. That said, the musical also deals with trauma, murder, suicide and abuse and so it warrants a mature audience and a trigger warning,” Denver further explains.
The second musical will also feature a 20+ strong cast and all the performances will be live and accompanied by live musicians. “I am a proud rock fan and I think good music ended in the ’90s and so while I have already presented my love song to rock music in Cassette – A Rock Concert, this musical is also very close to my heart,” concludes Denver, who is presenting this play in partnership with Raj and Ramee; and co-producing it with Aaron Kuruvila.
INR 300 onwards. July 2 and July 3. 4 pm and 7 pm. At Alliance Française of Madras.
romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal