Chapter 309

As she had expected it was stand up comedy. The guy who was performing was not very funny but was good enough and got some laughs. The chairs around the tables were arranged in a way that everyone who is seated can see the center stage where the performances were going on. The waitress removed the couple of extra chairs from their table just leaving only two chairs in which they were both seated. Akshar was sitting on her right and was looking at some colorful paper that he was holding in his hand. He looked at her and said,” Every weekend, they have some featured events going on here. They are very entertaining and interesting. The food is good too and you don't have to pay extra for parking. Today they are having a show after this, which by looking at the name, I believe is about a Chinese princess. It is a very good story and I don't completely remember the details but let us see how they bring out the essence of the story." She was very relaxed and was having fun. As soon as they had come in they had ordered some wine to drink. They waitress brought what they had ordered along with some toasted nuts. The next event was announced. The announcer said, “This story is about a Chinese princess called Turandot. She was so beautiful that anyone who laid eyes on her falls in love with her. But she didn’t want to get married but couldn’t do much against her father’s wishes so she agreed to marry the one who solves her three riddles. In order to make it more difficult she made it a law that if anyone fails to answer those correctly, they will die.” He paused for a moment. “Now let us see what happens. Did the princess ever get married? Was there anyone brave enough to come forth and answer the riddles?”

The curtains pulled off, and the lights dimmed. It looked like a nice theater. The princess was sitting behind a lace curtain, with her pet tiger which looked almost real. She was dressed in pure white and the audience could see only her side profile. Then the whole story unfolded with her father asking her to marry and her refusing and finally as abiding to the law agreeing to marry the one who answers the three riddles. As per her wish the king agreed and to her surprise many suitors come forth to answer her riddles. They all failed and lost their lives. The actress who played the role as the princess was excellent. When she appeared in front of the town’s people, when they requested her to let go of one of the suitors, a prince who was very young, much younger than the princess herself, her gesture, indicating no mercy to be granted, her cold facial expressions and her cruel eyes were excellent. The role of Timur king without a kingdom, struggling with his son Prince Calàf who was smitten with the princess' beauty, and was determined to win her as his bride was spotless expressing the pride of a king at his brave son and at the same time worried as a father. For the princess herself, it was not so much the size of her voice, which was considerable; it was the beautifully focused clarity and brilliance. Her performance could knock over everyone, but with the most elegantly struck blows imaginable. The overall set was skillfully designed that were colorful, ambitious and delightfully Eastern. The set had plenty of bamboo detail, Chinese motifs. The Emperor was quiet hilarious when he came out wearing a white silk, shorter pajamas and a red headdress which looked like a tomato on a tea pot to speak with his daughter with great concerns as she refuses to marry. And for the seductively pretty princess whose eyes showed no expression, but her eyes cold heart, every time someone shows up and fails to answer and is ready to loose their head. The major characters all wore a long silken ears and everyone from the palace were kitted out in glorious brocades. The hilarious and sensible Emperor was a delight to watch. The cast had worked very hard to create many characters from mandarins to peasants and the director kept the action moving apace. Akshar turned towards her and said, "I am glad you are enjoying this play. The director Anthony used to say "A theater that cannot be laughed in is a theater to laugh at." I am really happy to see you enjoy this event."