A Man For All Seasons

A Classic Play that had "Class"!
No, I am not talking about Ranga, but about the play we went to on Jan 6th 2012 at Chowdaiah. This winter for reasons as varied as our travels and the Metro work construction, which makes commuting in the city a nightmare and has been a wet rag on our theatre visits, we had missed the theatre. So, when Arjun Sajnani, a man for all seasons and reasons, came back after a long hiatus to stage this Robert Bolt Classic, a period drama and the feel of Tudor England, in the King's English, toh phir Kit-kat, sorry, theatre break banta hai!

The play set in England during the rule of Henry VIII is about Sir Thomas More who stands against the King’s resolve to divorce his ageing wife, who can’t give him a son, and marry his mistress, Anne Boleyn.
The play itself is special because of the resonance it has — family, society and politics. It is about one man standing up for what he believes in. We have seen that with Anna Hazare recently and so, the applicability with the present-day scenario is certainly there. But, I think, at the end of the day, I hoped it was going to be a well-produced classic.
Arjun Sajnani has spent 15 lakhs or more to scratch his 6 year theatre itch, in what could be said to be one of the most expensive English plays produced in Bangalore, with a stellar star cast of Ashok Mandanna, Ashish Sen, Veena Sajnani, Anil Abraham and Stanley Pinto. The efforts and talent was very much on display in this grand production where Pradeep Belawadi's lighting added the perfect ambient mood and setting. Ashok Mandanna as Sir Thomas More stole the show, his dialogue delivery was faultless, so was Veena Sajnani's acting. In fact everyone essayed their roles to a T. A long play over 2 hrs 15min and the packed hall was, well packed, even at 10.30pm. No murmurs and guess what?- I did not hear a single cellphone ring/ping during the time. Either this proves people have finally learnt some sense or it was a glowing tribute to the "hook" quality of the play, my guess is a little of both and it made the evening extra special.
What more can one ask for on a cool wintry evening but a cosy ringside view of some superlative performances which warms your heart? Enjoyed it immensely.