Monkey business in a mask

Julia Croft (back, left) Nisha Madhan, James Roque and Jacob Rajan (front) will perform in Indian Ink's latest play, Kiss the Fish, at Napier Municipal Theatre this Friday and Saturday. Photo/Supplied

An ECO resort taken over by monkeys may seem wildly imaginative but the events in Indian Ink's new play, Kiss the Fish, are based on reality.

The respected theatre company tells a story which is both magical and humorous - of lead character Sidu, who can't wait to escape Karukam Island to be the next Freddie Mercury.

A new eco resort to be built on the island promises life-changing riches, but when it turns out to be a flop Sidu steps up.

Directors Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis have spent three years working on the piece, commissioning a Balinese mask maker to bring the characters to life.

"It is interesting, it's actually based on a true story," Rajan says. "Justin, the director and my collaborator went to an island in Malaysia. He was staying in tourist accommodation on the beach, but up on the hill was this amazing resort.

"It had all the beds and everything but it was never opened as the locals refused to let overseas developers have access to the water supply. It just became overrun with monkeys."

Rajan and Lewis bonded over a love of masks, and have worked together for 17 years - an award-winning partnership which has produced shows such as Krishnan's Dairy, The Candlestickmaker, The Pickle King and The Dentist's Chair.

Audiences throughout the world have fallen in love with Indian Ink's creative works, and the company captivated one of America's most respected theatrical agents, David Lieberman.

It's been four years since the duo toured their last offering, Guru of Chai, and fans have responded by coming out in their masses to see Kiss the Fish performed live on stages throughout the North Island.

Part of their popularity was the intrigue and sense of mystery created by one-off masks, which allowed a single actor to play many roles.

Rajan, recently honoured with an MNZM for services to theatre, takes the stage as five different characters.

He is joined on stage by Nisha Madhan (Show Pony, Shortland Street, Blue Rose), Julia Croft (The Arrival, The Kick, Agent Anna) and actor/comedian James Roque (AotearoHA, Next Big Things, Titus) as well as award-winning musician David Ward.

"The masks are a guide to the audience, you put them on and disappear entirely, there's only four actors playing 10 people," Rajan says.

"I play five old men. The masks are key, they do possess an energy - you don't get a residue like you do with normal acting, you take the mask off and it's done, people are really delighted by the transformation and go deep into believing those characters."

Throwing a musician into the mix added to that feeling of being enthralled, and involved.

"It's like another layer of magic. We insist on having music, so there's Dave Ward, and the rest of the cast is actually quite musical as well."

Indian Ink has toured extensively throughout the US, including a hugely successful performance in New York City last year.

See Kiss the Fish at Napier Municipal Theatre, from 7.30pm on Friday and Saturday. Tickets available from TicketDirect.

There will be a post-show forum on July 18, or Q&A session with the performers. Contact the theatre for more information.