THREATRICS: Murder at Starlight

THREATRICS: Murder at Starlight

By Khaver Siddiqi

Raza Virani (L), Ali Junejo and Fatima Hassan in Starlight

A debut play by Stage Fright Productions, written by Mariam Virani and co-directed by Virani and Ali Junejo, Starlight is set in the early 19th century and is a murder mystery. The tagline of the play reads: “They all had the motive but only one had the drive to kill.”

The play that was recently staged in Karachi started off with the basics as we discovered the premise; Starlight is a club owned by Jaselle Castillo (Fatima Hasan) who also sings at the club regularly. Jaselle is also the murder victim and the suspects are all connected to her in one way or the other. The stake being not only the club itself but also a vast fortune that Jaselle recently inherited. A special aspect of her character is that although she dies in the first act, we get to see Jaselle in flashbacks with regards to the suspects. And it is in these flashbacks that Fatima explored the complexities of her character’s relations with others.
Enter the suspects.

The club is managed by Victor Lemur (Nadir Siddiqui), who is clearly uptight and displays an almost rude attitude towards everyone — except for Jaselle. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a motive to kill her. Nadir was at ease in this role, though at times it seemed his character had nothing to do, but when he did do something the moment was hardly dull.

Ronald Wong (Chaudry Talat Mazhar) played the bartender. Quirky yet shady, Wong was likable from the start thanks to Mazhar’s unique approach to the character. Whereas others would have gone with an over-the-top approach, Mazhar balanced his acting with both zany and lucid aspects. To their utter amazement, the audience discovered the shocking connection between his character and Jaselle, something that indicated an apparent motive and Ronald’s instability.

Cornelius Farriera (Adeel Azim Siddiqui) is a regular customer at Starlight, all because of his undying love for Jaselle. It is because of that same love that he surrenders all of his wealth to Jaselle and ultimate gets into trouble with his wife, Vivian Farriera (Sania Jamal).

Starlight unfolded like a murder mystery thanks to characters like Harold and Ronald. It also showed a clear balance on the part of Mariam Virani, first time writer and co-director of the play. Though the first few acts seemed to drag, once the murder occurred there was no stopping the ball from rolling

The chemistry between Cornelius and Vivian (Adeel and Sania) was quite clear, though at times quite straining, nevertheless quite entertaining. Cornelius is torn between his love for Jaselle and his wife Vivian, and Adeel’s expressions of angst and heartache came through perfectly. Vivian’s is a character that could have been explored much more as simply the wife of Cornelius. Her moments at the bar, especially her interactions with its other visitors were a delight to watch.

Brute Piero (Osama Tahir) is a known thug and gang member who has made his desire to own Starlight no big secret. Although Osama fit the role well with his costume, his character could have had more vocal opportunities throughout the play instead of just looking angry.

Detective Vincent (Ali Junejo) and his assistant Harold (Raza Virani) are hot on the trail of the murder that occurs right before their eyes at the club. Being the lead character, Vincent carried the play through seamlessly through his narration before each act. His monologues filled in the audience with the story and even (through a clever flashback sequence) the back story of the murder and Jaselle. Ali’s hard work has paid off as the lead, but it was Harold along with Raza who often stole the show. Though Vincent and Harold, we discovered the motives of each of the suspects and their connections to the deceased.

Starlight unfolded like a murder mystery thanks to characters like Harold and Ronald. It also showed a clear balance on the part of Mariam Virani, first time writer and co-director of the play. Though the first few acts seemed to drag, once the murder occurred there was no stopping the ball from rolling.

Speaking about Starlight, Mariam said, “I was always inspired by Agatha Christie stories and that’s how I wrote this play.” Earlier, her association with plays was limited to only helping out backstage. Now she’s already working towards her next project. “It’ll come out hopefully later this year,” she adds.

Fatima Hassan

Co-director and lead Ali Junejo is also no stranger to theatre. Having participated in five Mythos productions, he spoke to Images on Sunday about co-directing the play with Mariam. “It was an awesome experience, and I think it’s important that we were on the same wavelength as far as Starlight is concerned, which took it forward.”

All of this culminated in a special twist at the end as we learnt that Vincent had been playing the role of the detective and as well as the unreliable narrator. Starlight is an interesting and thoughtful play, albeit with minor faults that can be overlooked considering the big twist and payoff at the end.