City needs a saviour the most

What is the biggest need of our city? Is it a better drainage system or better roads? According to Rachel, the make-up artiste from Ashraya’s annual Christmas production, Christmas Jam, the city needs something or someone bigger than the rest of us, a messiah.The play opened with a high-strung business woman beating up an auto driver for causing scratches to appear on her brand new Mercedes. A wailing bride, decked up in a white wedding dress, joined them on the stage, begging the business woman to let her sit in her car because her make-up was running. The bride’s devoted make-up artiste followed her around, constantly fanning her. An overly pregnant woman walked into the scene. Chennai’s own MJ (What later was revealed as Mohan Jagadabalesan) added a lot not only to the existing chaos and confusion, but also to the props list on stage. It was obvious that the traffic signal on stage showed both the red and green light, but the characters on stage repeatedly affirmed that they were trapped in a traffic jam. Why was there no traffic police? Because he had gone for a tea break to cope with his stress, informed the chai vendor, who worked from a little shack in the corner. In scenes like these, director Shekinah Jacob’s skills shone, as there were no loopholes in the script.The pandemonium caused in the middle of the road, with each character contributing a little to the confusion with their share of quirks, took the play forward.  In the end, the audience got to understand that it was Christmas Day. Christmas! exclaim the business woman and the characters. Each remember a figment of their past and the play ensued. The pregnant woman had her moment on stage when she went into labour. One could have sworn that Laiza Mathew, who played the character to perfection, had real tears in her eyes when she asked the cop (Yes, he did make an appearance) to help her. Sylvia Fiona, as the business woman, was perfectly stressed for the role. Yeshwanth Danny was  nonchalant as the cop, M A Ragland impressed with his brilliant stage presence and acting and Elizabeth John shone as the bride.  Rachel Pamela, as the make-up artiste, was a charmer, nonetheless. The play ended by leaving the audience to wonder if all that we really need was just a saviour. A person who would get us out from all our problems.