Neil Simon’s vintage comedy ‘The Odd Couple’ returns to Bengaluru’s theatre

Still from ‘The Odd Couple’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

After an eight-year hiatus, theatre company Fools & Sages is back, staging Neil Simon’s iconic comedy The Odd Couple under the direction of Ajai Kesavan. The play, which follows two mismatched roommates — Oscar, a carefree sportswriter, and Felix, an obsessively tidy man recently separated from his wife — invites Bengaluru’s theatre lovers to experience the humour and poignancy of this tale of friendship, quirks, and clashes. Ajai’s fond memories of watching the 1968 film with his father fueled his decision to direct the play, bringing a fresh, relatable spin to this classic.

“I remember seeing The Odd Couple film with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau on a rented video cassette when I was around 13 or 14,” Ajai recalls. “I was rolling on the floor laughing, and since then, I wanted to bring a bit of that joy back.” Revisiting the play for this new production also brings a welcome challenge: balancing the nostalgia of Neil Simon’s 1960s humour with the modern theatrical sensibilities Bengaluru audiences expect.

Still from ‘The Odd Couple’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Ajai’s approach embraces the play’s humour while adapting its tone for a local audience, like incorporating Indian English accents to make it more relatable. With over 50 actors auditioning, he cast a talented group that naturally embodies the deadpan, subtle style of comedy The Odd Couple demands. “A lot of the humour is deadpan, so telling a joke without trying to be funny was essential. At the same time, physical comedy comes with the risk of overdoing it,” explains Ajai. Workshops were instrumental in refining the balance of each actor’s comedic timing, especially for Oscar and Felix, whose contrasting personalities must be conveyed with precision.

Staging a New York-based play on Bengaluru’s comparatively smaller stages also presented unique challenges, especially for scenes heavy with action and movement. “The dimensions of Indian stages are generally smaller than what The Odd Couple ideally requires,” he says. This required innovative choreography and blocking to keep the scenes dynamic without overcrowding the space. “It was a surprise to see how challenging it was to actually stage it, even though it reads so easily. The cast laughed out loud during the first reads, but putting it all together was more challenging than we expected.”

Still from ‘The Odd Couple’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Despite these hurdles, Ajai finds ample creative freedom in Neil Simon’s richly structured script. “The dialogues are crackling, sharp,” he says, “And the action cues provide a great foundation for us to build on.”

The core of the play, Ajai believes, is its portrayal of relatable character dynamics. To build authentic chemistry among the cast, the team spent evenings together playing poker, just like Oscar and Felix’s group of friends in the play. This camaraderie helped the actors embody their roles more naturally. “Everyone relates to both Oscar and Felix,” says Ajai, “There’s an Oscar and Felix inside each of us — or at least in someone we know. That’s what makes this play resonate so well.”

“We’ve all had an Oscar or a Felix in our lives, and I hope audiences connect with that familiarity and leave with a bit of laughter—and maybe even a little nostalgia.”

The Odd Couple will be staged at Jagriti Theatre, Whitefield, on November 15, 16, and 17. Tickets on BookMyShow.