An exciting experiment

By Cheranka Mendis

Perhaps it’s the society we live in, the work we do, the stress we build mulling over millions of things that need not be major concerns, or maybe it’s just us being Sri Lankans – we love a good laugh! It is an undisputable fact that what we want from characters on stage is comedy – fast paced, rib-hurting, tear-jerking comedy.

For so long, this need is what they have been catering to. Led by the able Jehan Bastians and Neidra Williams, Silent Hands Productions (SHP) has over the years tipped their scale of productions towards the hilariously interesting. Not that the other more serious or mysterious kind was forgotten, but following the trend, the name Silent Hands Productions seem to bring to mind comedy more so than other genres.

 Creative theatre

Determined to let local theatre lovers experiment with less giggle-inducing, more other-kind-of-theatre, Silent Hands is all set to present Ed Lange’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Secret Life,’ a mystery thriller under its new arm Creative Circle.

Neidra Williams told the Weekend FT noted that the Creative Circle is a division of Silent Hands where the team or the Silent Hands family will look into different genres such as dark theatre, thrillers and musicals.

Set up to draw in more creativity from those involved and work towards a collaborative effort in terms of the plays they hope to produce, Creative Circle will look towards drawing in inspiration and input of expert actors who are not part of the immediate SHP family.

“In Silent Hands, Jehan and I have a bigger say in how the whole thing is structured – how we run it, budgets, choice of play, choice of actors; most of it comes from Jehan and me while others such as Javin also contribute,” Williams said. “On the other hand, Creative Circle is organised in a way where we will put together a team to work on the production. It will be the team’s decision to choose a play for our next production and how it should be done.”

She admitted that their experience on what the audiences of Colombo want may not be the reality. “We are only two people. Ten others who have gone to see different plays in Colombo may have a better understanding of what Colombo is asking for now. The choice of the play, actors, venue and the basics will stem from a collective effort.”

 Why the Circle?

What made them think out-of-the-box, we ask. Riding on the success of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ the musical they did in collaboration with St. Peter’s College in 2010, it was Jehan’s idea to venture into musicals, she said.

A team, both on-set as the main minds behind SHP and CC and off-set as a couple, Jehan and Neidra have always worked alongside each other to create a successful venture out of what started as a theatre support group to help local English theatre productions in the country. They have always bounced ideas off each other and with Jehan supporting her love for theatre, when he came with an idea of doing musicals, Williams just had to give in.

“Musicals are alien to me. I am not a musician and I can’t read a single note. But it’s Jehan’s first love. He comes from a musical background and has put together chorales, etc.; this is second nature to him.”

This however was not the only reason. Celebrating 10 years of SHP, the duo felt that it was time to sink their teeth into something other than what they have always been doing. “From the perspective of directors, Jehan and I would like to experiment with experimental theatre in terms of different genres whether it’s a mystery or serious theatre or soliloquies.”

Williams added: “We felt that putting such plays under SHP might not be too good for the brand as people associate it with lighter, fast-paced dramas and comedies. Hence we came up with Silent Hand’s Creative Circle to explore other genres of theatre.”

 How Sherlock found his way to the circle

When looking for musicals, the duo stumbled on ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Secret Life’ and thought it interesting as they listened to sample music. Only when they brought down the book did they realise that it was not a musical but a play, a mystery thriller, with comedy elements to it.

“Someone had written a music score for it which we could use if we wanted to. That was about musical as it was going to be. It was a straightforward thriller play and we both agreed that this was brilliant.”

This thriller by Ed Lange is based on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conon Doyle and is the first and previously unwritten case undertaken by Watson and Holmes. Having intended to put it on stage in the early months of this year, the duo rounded up the cast in December. Unfortunately (or fortunately) they had to hold back the play due to the cast having issues with the dates and instead they put together ‘Nobody’s Perfect – Love Is All Around’ in time for Valentine’s Day. That was one of their shortest runs; she said, adding that usually they take about three months to put together a play.

‘Sherlock’ will go on the boards from 14 to 16 June at the Lionel Wendt and will be performed by a stellar cast including Shanaka Amarasinghe, Anurudha Fernando, Viran Corea, Neidra Williams, Andre Perera, Kanishka Heart, Roshni Gunaratne, Avishka De Alwis, and Lauren William-Bastians. The play is directed by Bastians and is produced by Javin Thomas and Billam Poulier. Tickets will be out on 27 May at the Wendt.

 Plans for the future

The plan is to do one Silent Hands Production and one Creative Circle production a year, William said. This year however is special as they put together three productions – ‘Nobody’s Perfect,’ ‘Sherlock’ and later a Christmas musical with St. Peter’s College as they celebrate their 10th anniversary as SHP.

There is also a plan to launch a ‘Writers Circle’ under Creative Circle where budding Sri Lankan playwrights will be given a chance to submit their work for upcoming plays.