Clutch Plays Theatre will be presenting ‘12 Incompetent Jurors’ on 24, 25, and 26 February at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. Directed by Mayaan Haputantri alongside Assistant Director Anjuli Mahinkanda, the theatre group will be bringing to post-pandemic audiences American playwright Ian McWethy’s hilarious take on the critically acclaimed television play and movie, ‘12 Angry Men’.
When The Sunday Morning Brunch spoke to Clutch Plays Theatre Artistic Director Mayaan Haputantri about bringing an English comedy to the return of stage drama post-pandemic, he said: “After everything that happened in the last year, we wanted to do a play which would be a pure joy for the audience to watch as well as for the cast to rehearse. Our goal with this show is to have people walk out of the theatre in a much better mood and frame of mind than when they walked in. Watching the last few months of rehearsals, I’m certain that we are going to do just that. So, buckle up and prepare for an evening of non-stop laughter.”
Assistant Director Anjuli Mahinkanda added: “Working with all the thespians and marketing and production teams with all their remarkable talents has been such a humbling experience. After everything we have been through as a country, I am hoping that we can give the audiences a stress-relieving, impactful performance that will hopefully resonate among them in the years to come. Excited to see you there!”
Prepare yourself for a lighthearted comedy as the once sane and sensible 12 angry men you have come to know are replaced with a room full of oddballs, including a dim-witted PR girl, a bickering couple, and a man obsessed with French fries, as they are assigned the ultimate task: a unanimous verdict. What could possibly go wrong?
The play ‘12 Incompetent Jurors’ stars Saranie Wijesinghe, Tahsha de Silva, Kanishka Herat, Zuleika Buhar, Visura Silva, Melmari Cruse, Nethra Peiris, Sulakshana Dias Amaratunga, Tharusha Kumarasinghe, Radhika Ranaweera, Dulya de Silva, and Januki Jayakody.
The production is co-sponsored by Tantri Trailers, along with Event Partner Grit Property Group, Legendary Taste Partner Elephant House, Electronic Media Partner TNL NOW, Apparel Partner Bear Appeal, and Promotional Partner Drama Sri Lanka.
Tickets are now available at the Lionel Wendt Box Office, priced at Rs. 3,500, Rs. 3,000, Rs. 2,500, Rs. 2,000, and Rs. 1,000.
Working on ‘12 Incompetent Jurors’
Januki Jayakody, who plays Juror Number 12, shared her experience of working on set with the cast and the directors, noting that as a relatively new entry to the theatre scene, having only performed at school prior to this, she had been able to learn and grow as an actor.
“It was actually my first time working with any type of theatre cast outside of school and there were a lot of different people from different environments with a lot more theatre experience, so I was quite nervous. But the cast was really welcoming and didn’t mind sharing their knowledge with everyone.”
She also spoke of her experience working with the directors, noting that they had created a very open and safe environment where they were encouraged to open up.
About playing Juror Number 12, she said: “The character is deceptively easy to play, but I realised it wasn’t just a matter of doing an accent and delivering lines and that I had to work harder to find their intentions, but yes, with a lot of direction and practice I think we have managed.”
Speaking to Brunch, Juror Number 3 Kanishka Herat said: “I watched the previous two plays by Clutch Plays Theatre and I told myself that given the opportunity, I would love to take part in anything they did later, so I am grateful that I am now a part of this production.”
“The journey so far, since September last year up until now, has been really fun. I have enjoyed my time with the cast members and we have a good mix of actors and actresses, with people who have a fair amount of experience in theatre and some who have just left school. We have been able to gel well in this process of bringing our characters to life,” he added.
Assistant Director Anjuli Mahinkanda also shared her thoughts on working with the cast and the director, noting that as a first-time director just out of school, she had felt nervous coming in, but had been left with an experience she would cherish. “I was so overwhelmed when I first joined because I knew the majority of the cast would be people with a lot more experience than me and those who were older, but I was never made to feel like I was smaller or that my opinion didn’t matter – there was so much respect,” she shared.
Speaking of her experience with the director, she said: “Working with Mayaan has been really great for me, since not only have I learned about directing, but also about how to be a good person in general. With regard to my theatre career, I will be indebted to him forever.”
Clutch Plays Theatre
Formed around August 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, Clutch Plays Theatre is the product of its President and Artistic Director Mayaan Haputantri’s yearning for an outlet during a difficult time.
“Personally, in my life, I was going through a tough period mentally,” Mayaan said, noting that it had been a difficult time for many people. In his case, theatre had been something he had always looked forward to doing and so he had thought about creating the means to do it himself.
“I think I always had a plan of forming a theatre company and I thought I would just do it in a few years. While I was going through that rough patch, my girlfriend actually suggested it, saying, ‘why don’t you start a theatre company now, just go for it’.”
Mayaan shared that the ultimate goal of Clutch Plays Theatre was to enable productions “that leave you in a better place than when you walked into the theatre”. He said: “If, by watching one of my plays, someone can be inspired to follow their dream or passion, whatever that may be, that is more than enough for me.”
This underlying motivation was what led to Clutch Plays Theatre’s very first production – ‘Boys’ Play’ by Jack Heifner.
“I always felt like there was a stigma around openly talking about your feelings of isolation and pain. We are still not comfortable talking to each other about these things. For me, sometimes when it is uncomfortable to talk about things, it gives me comfort to at least hear that I am not alone in my struggles,” Mayaan said. Thus came about ‘Boys’ Play,’ which is about opening up and being vulnerable and speaking up about your inner struggles.
“This play was about two boys on a camping trip who talk about everything under the sun. It was so refreshing to see two people talk so openly and honestly about their fears and insecurities and it covers a lot of serious issues as well. It was a nice play showing that you’re not the only one in the world who is going through all this pain,” he said.
How they work
Mayaan shared some insight into how the theatre company operated, explaining the steps they took as they looked for a play to perform. “When it comes to the type of plays I want to do, like I said, I want people to leave the theatre in a better state of mind than when they came in and I tend to do plays that provoke some kind of thought,” Mayaan said, adding: “‘Boys’ Play’ and my second play ‘Beautiful Things’ did both, so naturally I am drawn to stories that have a wholesome twist to them, where you can leave feeling a little warmer than when you walked in. But this time around, my board was adamant that I avoid doing another depressing play and basically forced me to do a comedy,” Mayaan said.
He did however note: “Comedy isn’t bad – you can distract somebody from the stresses and anxieties of life for 90 minutes and give them a really great time.”
He shared that once the play had been decided, there would be about two months of post-production. “This is when we do script analysis, mark beats, and engage in such technical things as you break down the script. You think of the set, the costumes, and get an idea of how you want to get the play off the ground,” he explained.
“I personally don’t like to think about the characters too much – I like to work with what the actors give me. I do have a pretty strong idea about what the play is about and what I want to get out of it and I just get a firm hold on the theme,” he shared.
Future and other work
Mayaan shared that Clutch Plays Theatre was also something that had been made to bridge the gap between doing drama in school and then having a place to go after that. This has led them to expand as a group and create a space where they try to help people grow and learn more skills to better their craft.
They held their first script writing workshop with Jack Heifner, a connection that came about by chance. “I emailed him after our show, thanking him for his play and sent him a few pictures of our production. He was overjoyed and we sort of became pen pals over time, having a back and forth. He really wanted to help us in any way he could and that is when we had this idea for him to do a script writing workshop for us,” Mayaan revealed.
Since then they have undertaken a few more workshops. However, Mayaan shared that despite having had a few more workshops lined up, the events of last year had caused many of these plans to be pushed back. He shared that they hoped to continue to do more of these, creating spaces for artists to push their skills and seek their potential.