Hilarious chronicles of life in Oman

Photo by Sourena Salemi

The flailing Ras Al Hamra Amateur Drama Society in Qurum has been revived with a handful of farces set in Muscat, thanks to the inspired imagination of Nasser Mardani.

Shiraz-born Director and Designer, Nasser has worked in Mining and Construction equipment for PDO in Muscat for many years but he has always had a strong thespian leaning towards parody and Theatre of the Absurd.

“Karak Tea or Vaccine” was sold-out for two early evening performances last weekend in the new, temporary (and theatrically unsuitable!) Marlin Hall at PDORC. Most of the cast and backstage crew were Persian, but not all, and each sketch took a satirical look at miscommunication and language in the melting-pot community that is Muscat.

“The Show includes 5 sketches”, explained Mardani, “based on different subjects taken from the team’s daily life in Oman”.

The first scene, subtitled “Corona” is about the illogical, often contradictory protocol set out during the pandemic. Ebrahim Salehi — who has participated successfully in RAHADS’ last 2 shows before Covid — joined Oil and Gas Engineer, Mohammed Reza Heidari in his second PDO show — in a social visit to their friend Nasser. They hug as they enter, but quickly realise that they should sanitise their hands and keep arms distance apart. After discussing the boredom of lockdown they begin to delve into those pervasive conspiracy theories: Where did it come from — America or China — to bring each others’ economies down? Who has the higher death toll — Italy or Brazil — until the statistics morph smoothly into football league scores. Which is the better Vaccine — Pfizer or Astro-Zeneca: whoever created Corona will make the better vaccine! There is a magnetic microchip smuggled into the American drug by Bill Gates to monitor everyone’s movements! No matter what opinion they share, Ebrahim always has a friend in the company who provides inside information to him until Nasser, in a fit of sheer desperation, transcribes Shakespeare’s famous, “To Be or Not To Be” speech into a pastiche of the ‘Karak Chai or Vaccines’ dichotomy!

The longest skit was the humorous three-hander, “Call Centre” with Mohammed Reza as a victim of his ‘slightly broken’ car-door hinge. It’s a simple job; we’ve all been there and it should be fixed cheaply by a quick trip to the garage. Nasser the garage manager has other ideas; he flatters him, offers him a chair, a cup of the ubiquitous Karak Chai which runs as a leitmotif throughout the evening, but bears euphemistic resemblance to procrastination, inflated prices and general skulduggery!

“Ta’aban” or ‘broken’ is a lesson in patience with modern gadgetry, especially when it goes wrong. In truth, Nasser has lost one earbud but he tries to sell the other to Rakesh as a deliberate new invention to listen to nature AND music. Rakesh gets the concept and is even convinced by Nasser’s persuasiveness that his family life will benefit. Just as things are concluding, Rakesh’s cleaner phones to say the washing machine is not working. With a 3-way conversation developing in both ears, Rakesh is overwhelmed by a nauseating, “One button, Two buttons” until Nasser takes the mobile off him to relieve the chaos in his head.

“The Bank” is the most Absurdist of the short snatches with non-sequitur conversations between Ebrahim, the Omani Bank manager and Nasser, a worker from Iran. He doesn’t know why he’s been summoned but the manager seems only interested in discussing his forthcoming trip to Northern Iran — and improving his experience. He asks Nasser’s advice on where to buy pistachios, where to pick saffron, eat Iranian kebabs. Can he bring a live goat back to Oman to milk; no he will need two, answers Nasser, none the wiser for his own summons. Finally when the manager has gleaned as much information as he can he curtly informs Nasser that if Oman can put sanctions on Iranian visitors, they will reciprocate and he cancels Nasser’s credit cards!

Finally “Roundabout” tells the tale of an expat who needs to exchange his Driving licence for an Omani one – but must take a test first. Despite Nasser’s ten years driving experience the ROP must still deliver the course. As it happens, Nasser’s driving is pretty awful; too fast, too slow, misses red lights, distracted while he’s driving, and although Rakesh is a patient officer Nasser still tries to bribe him with some wasta. Of course they have to stop and buy Karak Chai before Rakesh patiently explains the rule of giving way to the left, Nasser proves his point by demonstrating just how effective the law of the jungle can be on Omani roads.

What made the production so successful was the recognition of absurdities in Omani life. Sometimes the endings were a little weak, but are more than made up for by enthusiasm and energy. Nasser relates, “...I was able to observe the history of almost 40 years’ worth of theatrical effort made by past RAHADS members in their shows. Now, all those people have left PDO, but we are here to keep the show running!”