What happened to Dramanon Hyderabad tonight?

Was it the return of the prodigal that did it? Was it Rahul Premchander’s intense mane or Saurabh’s clean shaven innocence that did the trick?

Or was it Harika? The much mellowed, matured bottle of wine Vedula.

It was as if RK had spent the last couple of years getting Harika and himself ready for Rahul and Saurabh.

And the two, Rahul and Saurabh, back on stage after a sabbatical, were primed into excellence. And the effort showed.

Right from the Punjabi garnish in the ‘Rules is Rules’ play. To the virginality in ‘Seeing the Thing’.

Harika came disguised as a Bullet in her first playlet and then slipped into something blind for her next. The switch required reaching deep into oneself and Harika managed that effortlessly.

It was a delight to see an indulgent RK Shenoy holding his horses, allowing the others to shine…with just a cheeky clenching of the jaw once in a while to show them who’s boss.

Having seen earlier versions of these playlets I couldn’t help but compare. And I must confess that tonight was several notches above. I now look forward to the next month when Dramanon promises to bring forth more such delicious evenings.