I walked into Dogherty Arts Center auditorium, a room that could barely seat a hundred audience members not really knowing what to expect from the play. The compactness of the stage made the audience feel as though they belonged in the play. The audience was a melange of people of all ages. As soon as the viewers quieted down, the drama commenced in a professional manner with no flowery introductions.

The lights were turned off and the clocks turned back to September 14, 1970. The stage was illuminated and we were in a typical Mylapore home, equipped with a 70s style sofa set, a rotary dial phone, and a veshti -wearing Iyengar cook.

The first few minutes of the play were occupied by a humorous character development of Mr. Bashyam, a highly acclaimed Madras lawyer. Mr. Bhashyam, played by Krishna Shankar, is a complex character with a typical Iyengar accent which was gargled by his beedi-chewing. He is approached by an innocent-looking Sreedharan, the accused party in the Ms. Rebecca murder case. Ms. Rebecca, a wealthy Anglo-Indian is mysteriously killed the night before. Mr. Sreedharan is the prime suspect who begs and pleads Mr. Bhashyam to help him prove his innocence. Seeing that Mr. Sreedharam spent time with Ms. Rebecca, the papers claim that he murdered her for her money. After he is taken into police custody, Ms. Parvathi, the glamorous, headstrong, and seemingly-devoted wife of Sreedharan, appears next in Bhashyam’s house, and Bashyam makes a big promise to speak as her husband’s witness.

The second scene begins with the audience appearing as the jury in the courtroom. The courtroom setting is detailed and true to what can be seen on Tamil movie sets. The other characters introduced in this scene included Thathachari, a humorous role played by Prakash Mohandas, the cook Anthony, whose typical ‘bashai’ had everyone entertained, and the articulate judge who portrayed his role as a calm mediator perfectly. The suspense is heightened by Ms. Parvathi who, surprisingly, appears as a witness for the plaintiff side. Murmurs from the audience suggested that they were wondering if she was the murderer.

A unique blend of murder mystery, Theernthathu Kanakku put a new spin on the traditional courtroom drama. The audience played a prominent role by acting as the jury, thus leaving no room for boredom. The play kept the audience constantly guessing and trying to find out who the real perpetrator was. The mood was heightened by the music, which was an original score by Rohan Joseph. Comedy was woven into the play by dialogues between characters, but without taking away from the serious nature of the drama. Slow in the beginning, it turned out to be a gripping play. The characters’ speech and gestures took the audience back to the streets of singara Chennai .

Different from all the dramedies that the Austin community has seen, Theernthathu Kanakku shines due to its originality and its no-fluff manner. Be on a look-out for more Kalalaya, an Austin-based production company.

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