One of the well-known Tamil theatre companies in Chennai called Dummies Drama, turns 25. Acc "we have four new productions and over 50 shows of our plays planned up for a year, starting today and going up through August 2023." says V. Sridhar, a senior member of the group.
Veenaiyadi Nee Enakku, their new drama, will be presented for the first time in the Mylapore Fine Arts Club auditorium as part of There will be more performances there on August 27 at 7 o'clock and August 28 at 5 o'clock.
The founders of Dummies Drama, V. Sreevathson, R. Giridharan, and G. Krishnamurthy, who were then pursuing chartered accountancy, came up with the idea in 1998. They started their quest with a full-length comedy called (Wo)Mens Rea because their mutual love of theatre resonated with their family and friends.
The group developed a following over time and amassed an amazing library of plays with a diverse range of themes. Prathibimbam (2015), a political thriller focused on the Indo-China relationship, and Vaidyashala (2017), a drama with themes related to the healthcare industry, are just a couple of its original productions. Before it was presented by Dummies Drama, V. Sreevathson originally wrote Valai, a corporate espionage thriller, and Hanuman, a tale about ISRO.
The troupe has also presented docu-dramas, such as Vaayu (the story of the Maruti car, staged in 2016), and Dharaniyin Perumai (staged to pay tribute to legal luminary Nani Palkhivala on his birth centenary in January, 2020).Vinodaya Sitham, the movie directed by P. Samuthirakani and released on OTT platform last year, is an adaption of one of the troupe’s flagship plays by the same name, inaugurated in 2004. Athithi, premiered in 2009, is another play that is considered the troupe’s calling card. Both these plays have been performed more than 150 times.
Just like the T20 format in cricket, the troupe has more than 10 such productions to its credit.A dedicated team that has been developed over the years and is primarily made up of working professionals is at the heart of its success. The troupe has more than 40 productions and nearly 1,000 shows to its credit, with some of them winning awards at theatre festivals.