For those whom the doctor prescribed a stress-free evening, iconic director Jith Pieris' lively new comedy, "Affair at Ward Place Hotel" offers the perfect supply of humour and political innuendo required to tickle your senses! 

The cause célèbre unravels at Colombo’s finest Ward Place Hotel as prominent State Minister Ranjith Wijesundara is spotted by scandal-starving Joint Opposition members with his main squeeze for the evening. This pretext serves as the crucial tool for Opposition Leader Dr. Weerakoon to once again work his scheming ways and reclaim his political position. 

Famed for exceptional productions such as "He Comes From Jaffna" and "No Sex Please, We’re British", Jith Pieris is a reputed figure in the hall of Sri Lankan English theatre. Referring to him fondly as “Uncle Jith”, here are a few exclusive words from the cast, 

Pemanthi Fernando as Dimi Wijesundara 

I play Dimi the wife whose husband the politician is, oh yes, cheating on her! So I’m the one who he shows to the world on camera saying, ‘this is my wife’ but that’s not the case. I really like the fact that I’m portraying an underlying role in Sri Lankan culture. I think this role, when it comes to local politics and the social hierarchy, shows how the two play into a marriage. Sometimes families just go for the higher class or caste partner because that’s considered the theoretically ‘perfect match’. Then ultimately, the marriage unfortunately breaks down. 

I’ve actually been a comedy actress and I’d go on to say that it’s probably my forte. Everyone who’s in the theatre circle has gone through Uncle Jith and it’s been an exciting experience. I’m really happy with the cast, they’re really hard working and wonderful to be around. 

Kithmina Hewage as Dr. Jayanath Weerakoon 

An 'opportunist' is how I’d describe my character Dr. Weerakoon, a politician from the Opposition who’s just lost the election about a year and a half ago and trying every possible means to get back into power. I have mixed feelings about the role because on one hand it’s challenging getting into the mindset of a politician. I don’t think I can get a job done the way he goes about it - he’s quite conniving! On the other hand, it’s easy to portray this role because it’s one we frequently see on the news. 

I believe the locals will certainly identify with me! But I leave it in their hands as to what they’d like to make of me. 

It’s been six years since I last acted and this experience has been fantastic. Jith’s reputation of course, precedes him and being able to work with him has been an experience by itself. 

Eraj Gunewardena as Dev Gunawardana 

D-E-V Dev, not D-A-V-E Dev, is a foreign educated lad who’s joined the recently elected party to fulfill his internship duties but he doesn’t seem to be a good fit for the job. Unlike the archetype politicians he’s too honest and the whole system seems alien to him. 

I recently acted in "Next to Normal" and I’ve also worked with Jith before on "No Sex Please, We’re British". I decided to take on this project because I usually prefer to be a part of plays which are different in terms of the roles I play and the type of theatre. It’s a pity that English theatre in Sri Lanka doesn’t have the platform yet to make theatre related roles into viable professions unlike Sinhala theatre, but who knows? As for the cast, I’ve worked with most of them before so it’s always great to do another production with them. 

Wasaam Ismail as Ranjith Wijesundara 

Hailing from a long line of upper class politicians, Ranjith I’d say is a fairly young, slightly arrogant, cocky but confident politician who can’t resist the thrill of mischief. I’m also a bit of a womaniser (not me, of course, the character!). While I’m not depicting any specific real-life persona, Ranjith makes a few comments in the play which references current political talk and gossip. I’m looking forward to see how the audience picks up these puns and responds to them. 

Although I’m an actor and director, this part of my life is only when time permits since I have a passion for it. I’ve worked in the field of theatre for about 13 years now playing various roles in popular productions like "Shakespeare in the Park", "Pusswedilla" and "The Mousetrap" but this is the first time I’m working with Uncle Jith and I have no complaints! 

Nilushi Dewapura as Sharika Wettasinghe 

Although I acted in school mainly for the Shakespeare competitions I haven’t really acted since, so when I got the call I thought I’d take a chance. I’m playing the role of Sharika, she’s the private secretary to the Minister of the Opposition so it’s my duty to find out anything I can about the elected Minister! Jith thought the role suited me well and I really like that I get to provide my own interpretation. I feel her character is both interesting and intense and in that sense I can identify with her, but in terms of getting into the mentality of a different character and portraying it, I’d say it’s been slightly testing. 

It’s been a completely different experience for me even though I’m familiar with comedy as a genre, mainly because it’s my first time participating in a public production. All in all it’s been interesting working with Jith and the cast and I’m very glad I got this opportunity. 

Thanuki Goonesinghe as Sammy Perera 

Sammy is one of the principal causes of one of the scandals and though she’s not physically present at all times you can still feel her presence in the room. She’s an actress both on-screen and off-screen and usually works to her advantage. She’s not in love with anyone in particular but she’ll follow anyone who gives her attention and immediately draws away when there’s trouble close-by. 

The comic genre is fairly new to me because I’ve worked on tragedies before but working with a jovial group of people has made it much easier. Working with Uncle Jith has been great; he’s very nice, he knows exactly when someone has an issue and is very encouraging - he’s really a strength to everyone here. 

Lithmal Jayawardhana as Ajuman (Waiter 1), Madura Wijeratne as Gopal (Waiter 2) and Chirantha Kolonne as Priyantha (Bartender) 

  

Lithmal (left) and Madura (right) 

We play very important roles - the waiters and the bartender! In fact one of us gets to finish the play! We’re mainly there to provide the comic relief in the play with humorous gestures, facial expressions and severe miscommunication - sometimes we’re even called "bloody idiots!". We’re also meant to create the hotel atmosphere as we’re featured in most of the scenes. 

We’ve been involved in theatre for about 7 years now and the cast are all familiar faces. It’s great to work with people you know because that level of chemistry is needed to put on a good production. We haven’t necessarily worked as actors under Jith although we’ve helped out whenever possible. He’s a good director in the sense that he doesn’t feel the need to always micromanage which gives a lot of scope for the actors to bring their own interpretations. I think it’s probably because he’s very confident in the cast we have, no one here is a first-timer and he trusts in their skills. 

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What other secrets will be revealed? How far will the Joint Opposition succeed? Find out on the 28th and 29th of October 2016 from 7:30PM onwards at the Lionel Wendt. Tickets are priced at Rs. 2000, 1500, 1200, 1000 and 600 (Balcony) and can be purchased at the Lionel Wendt or on their website www.lionelwendt.org.