https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/lifestyle/art/double-life-deals-a-duo-wammy-of-laughs-3779936
By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted March 28, 2022
Aperture Africa
hasn’t been on stage in the last three years, and they have been sorely missed
by their giant fan-base.
Yet there’s
a query among some Kenyans why this talented local company continues producing
shows that are so very British when Kenyans are keen to see their own
characters performed on stage.
To that
concern, I’d say that when British comedy is performed well, as it was last
weekend when Aperture staged Ray Cooney’s “Caught in the Net” at the Jalaram
Auditorium in Parklands, it transcends national boundaries and has a universal
appeal.
And after
all, isn’t polygamy a common Kenyan practice, whether women appreciate it or
not? And isn’t the covering up of personal feelings a universal part of
wedlock? Couples may claim to be totally transparent with one another, but
rarely is that the case.
In the case
of John Smith (Pritul Raithatha), his double life of duo-wedlock is the subject
of the Cooney comedy, (better known as ‘Farce’). From the word go, we see what
the playwright intended and what Aperture employed very well, namely having two
separate storylines played out on one stage simultaneously.
John’s two
offspring, Gavin (Tirath Padam) by Barbara (Akinyi Oluoch) and Nikki (Nixsha
Shah) by Mary (Chandni Vaya) are apparently in the same room, speaking
vigorously with their respective mums about their shared discovery. Both their dads’
have the same names, ages, and occupations! Among the kids, there seems to be
no hint in their heads that their supposed double set of dads might be just one
man.
But their
curiosity has the better of the youth. Gavin, aged 16, and Nikki, 15, are keen
to meet up in person since they’d stumbled into one another on social media
where they got to chatting on friendly terms.
Both mothers
are respectful of their busy taxi driver spouse, so they insist that Dad be
informed first. After all, everybody’s heard about internet predators and Dad
might disapprove of his daughter going to meet a total stranger, which of
course, he does. But not for the reasons he gives to Nikki.
He knows
both families should never meet. He’d been warned long ago by his buddy Stanley
(Hiren Vara) that he’s living dangerously, since one lives in Parklands, the
other in Gigiri. That’s too close for comfort, but John doesn’t give the threat
a second thought. That is, not until it’s almost upon him. His children are
hell-bent on meeting and the rest of the farce is all about the hilarity that
ensues as John tries to waylay the inevitable.
He employs
Stanley to help him elude the children’s rendezvous. But Stan has other plans.
He’s meant to go with his senile father (Vikash Pattni) to vacation at Lake
Magadi, but he never gets there. Instead, he steals the show, concocting crazy
tall tales to delude everyone from Gavin and Mary to Nikki and Barb.
It's John of
course who’s the most masterful liar. He and Stan display the type of
split-second timing required to turn a mere amateur show into a professional
experience that has your audience immersed in their own laughter at the antics
of the cast.
What also
mattered was the extent to which John and Stan went to make total baffoons of
themselves while at the same time playing such endearing yet crazy characters.
Of course,
the climax of the show is when John finally gets caught, and he gets down on
his hands and knees begging for forgiveness from wives who, as it turns out, knew
about one another for the last 15 years. They are effectively best friends
since they’ve shared their stories, and decided they had a good thing going
with John. So why trouble the guy. Let him live a double life.
The only
issue was the incest that might ensue if the kids got together. But the show
ends with a bang as Mary reveals that Stanley, not John is father of Nikki! So
they’re essentially one happy family!
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