Applause, right? But if you are up there on stage and you can hear it, does the spelling matter? Or the accent you didn’t even try to lose. Or the English which may not have been your comfort language. What matters is the story. And the story telling. And the environment that actors create, the mood they set…and so on.

Tonight at LaMakaan, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men led by their directorial knight Riyaz Usman and his young son Zayaan, took us back to the horrors of the Second World War and made us laugh.

They used a powerful and well known story – Anne Frank’s Diary – and a very old Telugu Film style of theatrics and background music…and transported us into a time the world is trying everything to forget.

Everything went right for them today. The rustle of the rain cover matched the music in timing and frequency. The LaMakaan cat walked on to stage as if on cue…just as Peter was looking for his cat Mooshi.

The Malayalam accent, the broken English…nothing could distract from some wonderful performances. Characters who stood out were Anne and Peter (Namita Ramesh and Piyush Ram) of course…their innocence and confidence was amazing. Lakshmi Suja who played the rich kid/brat with a fur coat was a riot. And Snehal Hattikudur was at her normal ebullient best, mothering this motley crew of family and guests and coming to terms with a disconnected daughter.

What really took the cake however was the way the team used the LaMakaan stage. Every inch of space was used, the stage, the steps, the door…in fact I wouldn’t have been surprised if the toilets above the stage were made part of the set.

I was told that there were some tech issues yesterday, but today the sound was bang on.

As I listened to the anguished voice of young Anne, a sound of hope and courage, the story unfolded with a layered curtain like effect…how the incarceration started on an upbeat note…and how the long duration of cooped up madness took its toll on everyone. And how the dynamics of the group changed the moment one extra man (played angrily by Utkarsh Dixit) arrived…and there was less to share among more.

I liked it when Riyaz announced that the group was all about experimenting with different genres, and he must be complemented for having discovered some significant talent. Well done gentlemen as perhaps the original Lord Chamberlain would have said.

Cheers.