Directed by Ifaz Bin Jameel
Starring Marsh Dodanwela
The end of the fourth and final installment of the Noir Theater Festival, by StageLight&Magic
The last time I saw Marsh Dodanwela on stage he was wearing a monk’s habit and doing what to the un-trained eye appeared to be an impersonation of Eric Cartman from South Park. It was a completely incomprehensible, inane and surreal performance and the only thing that kept me from walking out of Elizabeth: Almost by chance a woman. It’s a pity he spent two-thirds of the play jammed up a horse’s arse, which incidentally is what the rest of the play felt like.
But, back to this play… The Devil & Billy Markham by some guy named Shel Silverstein.
The Synopsis
I shall resort to thievery for the convenience of my readers. From SL&M:
In this classic rendition of a tall tale told in rhyming couplets, Billy Markham an out-of-luck songwriter with an addiction for gambling takes on the Devil in an ultimate battle. Billy outwits the devil only to find that the Devil doesn’t play by the rules. From rolling a 13 on the dice to selling not only his soul but that of his mother, his daughter and his wife Billy is sent through hell. He finds a way to outwit the Devil.
Sounds a little simple, like a random Keanu Reeves movie but instead turns out to be the good kind of simple. This is a masterful play that rests entirely on the shoulders of one person. If you don’t mind a spoiler and would like a benchmark, check out this rendition of the play.
The Conclusion
Again, I’m not going to ramble on. I’m just going to say that this was the most perfect piece of theater I have ever witnessed, or ever dreamed I would witness. It would be absolutely criminal for you to miss this play. This performance made the torture that was The Lesson completely worth the anguish. Once you see this you will not remember the other five plays in the festival. They were as insignificant as candles placed next to a nuclear explosion.
This play saddens me because I believe Marsh to be completely wasted in this country. I sincerely hope, for his sake, that he leaves Sri Lanka and seeks his fortunes elsewhere instead of languishing in mediocrity in a country where he cannot reach his full potential. There are thousands of people who could do his day job just as well as him, but none of them would have been able to stand on stage as Marsh did last night and fill his shoes.
So, who cheated the Devil and won? Marsh did.
And it was a very humbling experience.
7 Comments
absolutely true. marsh was sizzling. DO NOT MISS THIS PLAY
This is a really fawning review. I must say I’m rather disappointed… I was hoping the Critic would adhere to stricter standards. It was a very good play, admittedly, but to talk about whether Sri Lanka deserves Marsh or not? Tsk tsk. Do better next time.
My humblest apologies. I live only to serve you and I have been remiss in my duties. I should have been extremely harsh with The Interview’s actors for seeming unsure of their lines on at least two occassions, completely inexcusable in a play that is twenty minutes long. I should have harped on the fact that the music accompanying Marsh’s singing was too loud and he seemed a little stiff while singing, normally excusable for opening night, but what the hell… let’s nit pick. I could have mentioned any of a dozen things but I didn’t because none of them adversely affected the overall quality of these two plays.
It seems that you cannot see a distinction between a fawning review that is earned by a job extremely well done and a fawning review that is paid for and/or predetermined. It must be a sad and depressing place you come from if you cannot give praise where it is deserved.
And by the way, “wasted on this country” means Sri Lanka doesn’t deserve him whereas “wasted in this country” means he has talent enough to give him access to any stage in the world if he so chooses.
Yes, I certainly do agree with CC about Marsh’s performance – a mind-blowing display of his acting and mimicking talents. The play itself was well chosen, complimenting all of his strengths. Of course, I too did feel that there was a bit too much fawning over Marsh (good looking, talented bloke, isn’t he? Looks real sexy in his beard and all). This, however was not the greatest piece of theatre I have ever witnessed in Sri Lanka, as I feel there are many better productions that have come and gone (anything by Ruwanthie de Chickera, a selection of plays by Jerome de Silva, some of The Performing Arts Company’s comedies), but that is not to take away from how great this was. As a parting shot, those of you who have seen Gihan de Chickera in much the same vein in the brilliant “Last Bus Eke Kathawa” will probably have a hard time deciding who was better. As fabulous as Marsh was, my money is on Gihan…
Yes, the bloke’s got a lot going for him, doesn’t he. And the fawning is painful to me, but I see no alternative in this case.
Out of the people you mention Jerome de Silva is the only one whose work I’ve seen so I will keep an eye out for them.
I remember thinking Gihan de Chickera is simply the best stage actor this country has of this generation when I saw him in the one man act of “Last Bus eke Kathawa”. Last night, Marsh challenged that conclusion of mine. And to be as good as Gihan, or perhaps even better, is extraordinary. I am glad that the face of the theatre scene is constantly changing, and that there’s more than just a few brilliant actors around.
I don’t think Marsh should go elsewhere, Colombo has a booming and blooming English Theatre scene right now and he should stay to contribute, to make it better. If everyone worthwhile went away, then what hope does the local theatre scene ever have of improving?
I certainly have seen a number of very, very good productions in Sri Lanka and last night’s The Devil and Billy Markham was one of them. Marsh was outstanding in his versatility, he was brilliant and agile and funny, one can only go uphill from there.
Hats off to Ifaz Bin Jameel too, people often underestimate the importance of a good director, and last night’s performance could not have been what it was if it had been directed by a bad one.
Hey CC, let me join you in the ‘fawning’ over “the Devil and Billy..’. Marsh took it by the scruff of the neck and held on. I saw it on the last night and the poor lighting, the horrible sound effects and insensitive coordination backstage between those two aspects did little to distract from this electrifying performance. The best bit of acting I have seen in the past several years in this country and hopefully there will be a repeat performance or three.
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[...] However, there is one small problem… [...]
[...] Dodanwela’s onstage morphings in “The Devil and Billy Markham” all the time. Colombo critic is spot on about the quality of Marsh’s acting. And Marsh is able to pull off a continuous physically [...]
[...] Wow. Smashing. I can die happy now. [...]
[...] by the arts and delight in good performance. There is something magical about good theatre, as Marsh Dodanwala delightfully reminded us recently. If you, like I, would like to see more of the same, buy a ticket [...]
[...] by the arts and delight in good performance. There is something magical about good theatre, as Marsh Dodanwala delightfully reminded us recently. If you, like I, would like to see more of the same, buy a ticket [...]
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