3 @ 20

Had a very different experience this Friday. I had been to " Alliance Francaise" ( French Embassy), with friends to watch 3 @ 20. As the name says, there were 3 plays staged, each one 20 minutes long. Well, I've watched quite a few English plays. But this one could at best be described as a rehersal or a reading.

This was an attempt to bring out budding script writers and give them a feel of what the audience think of their plays. I thought this was an excellent idea. Given the fact that lots of things which are written never get to be read or seen, it is heartening to see these attempts.

The first one was the best of them all. It was about 3 friends meeting after a long time over a drink and reminiscing their past. All of a sudden a girl barges in and starts shouting that the play is so boring. That is when you realise that you are actually watching a play within a play. The best part was when one gentleman in the audience failed to realise that this was a part of the play and asked her to cool down.

The second one was inspired by a real time incident. In this, a wife climbs on a tree and refuses to come down following a quarrel with her husband. As the poor fellow goes about pacifying her, people start crowding around them. This leads to some clever street hawkers setting shop under the tree, turning that place into a "Bazaar".

The last one was the least convincing of the lot. This has a young man from a village falling in love with a rich girl from the city. He has a blind, old grandfather to take care of. The girl's father declares that he can accept this only if the village guy is willing to come and live in the city. For that reason, the father sets out to meet the old man and convince him. But he gets the shock of his life, when the old man turns out to be his own father. The poor young fellow was in love with his own sister !!! The play ends with the young man committing suicide unable to accept the truth.

To say the least, the last one was very filmy as one in the audience put it. I'm not sure what made the script writer choose this story. If he really plans on developing this play into a full fledged one, it would end up looking like a mini Tamil movie, if he doesn't add some interesting twists to it. When we can get all this and much more ( in the form of song and dance) in movies , why would any one pay as much and watch such plays??

One last comment. I don't knoe how many such attempts are on in the city promoting creative talent. But I feel that there should be atleast a dozen more. More so when plays in both English and Tamil are becoming stereo typed ( either mindless comedy or some poor imitation).