There once was play, a play so incredibly happy that it rejoiced in its own name—I think that this would be a most suitable beginning to the CHS freshmen/sophomore play ‘Haroun and the Sea of Stories’. This CHS production was, hands down, a great success.
The play ‘Haroun and the Sea of Stories’, directed by John Armstrong, was adapted from the novel ‘Haroun and the Sea of Stories’ by Salman Rushdie. The storyline is about a boy named Haroun has a father, Rashid. Rashid is a famous storyteller, until one day his wife leaves and he cannot speak long stories in front of crowds. Rashid and Haroun travel to tell stories for political leaders, and one night when away from home Haroun finds a water genie named Iff. Haroun then travels to the planet of Kahani, which is waging a war between the side of light, words and ‘goodness’ and darkness, silence and ‘evil’. He helps defeat the evil leader Khattam-Shud and restors the magic of talking to his father. In the end the mother returns and the family is reunited. The complex storyline made it especially hard to put on in the form of a play, and I think that the cast depicted the storyline relatively clearly, with only minimal confusion in some parts. The script follows very closely to the plot of the book, and director Armstrong was able to accurately portray almost all the complexity the rich book has to offer.
A very striking part of this play was the way language was used. The way words are used in the novel is very similar to the way they are used in the play as well. The acting was especially impressive because the actors and actresses were able to rattle off long and tongue twisting lines like “skinny, scrawny, sniveling, driveling, mingy, stingy, measly, weasly clerk”. Not only did the confusing wordplay make it impressive, but acting (especially for a freshman/ sophomore play) was exceptional. Parts like Haroun, played by sophomore Laura Townsend, Soraya played by sophomore Shaina Crall, Khattam-Shud played by junior Luke Layden, Blabbermouth played by freshman Claire Lisker, and Iff the Water Genie played by sophomore Emma Riley made the cast exceptionally funny and uplifting.
The set of the play was also, although at sometimes could have had more in the way of costumes, was very well organized and well done. The lighting during the play was very good, especially in parts such as when the “source” of all the stories is revealed and Dull Lake reveals its moodiness. The dramatic lighting was emphasized by the location of the Black Box Theater at CHS which creates a more hands on feel for the audience. Also, the musical background of the play gave it more depth and more emotional range, and I thought it was a good addition to the overall play.
‘Haroun and the Sea of Stories’ was very well done and gave a fabulous and accurate spin on the novel. The cast’s skills were great, the lighting and set was superb and directing was very well done. The play went without a hitch and CHS looks forward to more astounding plays to come!
feel free to take out the iff the water genie part if too long (:P), and make a better beginning.. ick