The Dramatic Arts : Parthu Pesu Patabi

Parthu Pesu Patabi is the latest comedy play directed by . . and it tells the tale of a guy whose words seem to come true. This play is a more modern take on the comedy genre and the way it is presented to the audience.

I really enjoyed Parthu Pesu Patabi and quite frankly it is the best comedy play I have seen as of now, with all due respect to ones I have seen before. I do have a few issues with it, but overall it is really, really funny.

Direction, Story and Screen Play – Ananthu

Lights - Balan

Sets - Padma Stage Kannan

Stage & Material Management - Satish

Cast - Ananthu (Pattabi), Swetha (Priya), Rail Venkat (Thirunavukarasu), Mohan (Shanmugasundaram), Srimathy (Manasa), Kripa (Chandru) , Satish (Gopal), Bala Ganesh (Perumal Samy), Sriram (Venkatsan), Sai Prasanna (Prem Kumar)

Production - Guru Ragavendra Creations

What I Liked:

The story and direction is top notch. It is refreshing to see a different take on the comedy genre which has been dominated by stories of family situations which spin off into absurd scenarios leading to comedic one-liners.

Parthu Pesu Patabi is a play which, often times breaks the fourth wall. The basic concept is that, when the lead character Patabi makes a statement, the audience will hear a beep. This beep signifies that what he says will happen.

This plot point is used to move the story forward in really imaginative and comedic ways. There are situations involving a guy who likes saying his name like James Bond, a situation involving a famous social activist trying to become an MLA, a police constable and most of all Patabi’s close friend.

The acting in the play is top notch. While most of the comedic brunt is carried by Ananthu and another huge chunk of it is also carried by Kripa who plays Chandru Patabi’s friend. All the actors are funny and they nail comedic timing ninety nine percent of the time. With the exception of the character of Patabi’s Father every other character has funny scenes. The father does not have such a scene because his character does not have the funny streak in him, not because of inconsistencies.

There is not much in terms of lighting, because being a comedic play, this does not have many scene which requires heavy trick lighting. The sets, while not spectacular, serve the purpose and make sure that the characters remain the centre of attention.

What Could Have Been Better:

Right off the bat, the worst thing about the play was the music. I hate to say this about a really good play, but the music was nonexistent. There was literally no music except during transitions, and that would have been a good thing, had it not required it. Certain scenes felt lacking without the music and, in my opinion, they would have been a lot better with it.

In a play which is so inherently funny, there comes a time, when an overload of jokes just takes the fun out of it. Somewhere around the beginning of the second half, I became a bit overloaded with the jokes. When there is a joke, after a joke, after a joke, it becomes difficult to find everything funny. It would have been better if it had been complemented with a bit of some other plot point.

But, thankfully, the play does pick up after some time, and it gets back on the funny track, before this problem becomes too noticeable.

Another small thing which I would like to point out is that the play took a convenient ending, but seeing as that was its only way out, I don’t blame it too much.

Final Thoughts:

Like I mentioned earlier, Parthu Pesu Patabi is the best comedy play I have seen until now. It is funny, it is fresh and a welcome change. I am certain that if this troupe continues to make such good quality plays, they will certainly find a lot of success in their future endeavors.

I give Parthu Pesu Patabi 4 out of 5 stars.

Do check this play out if you get a chance. I am convinced that you will not be disappointed.  I shall post a list of future dates, when they are confirmed. Until next time:

Peace!!!