Scenes from The Millionairess. Pictures by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Members of Calcutta Club, as part of their ongoing centenary celebrations, staged a play by George Bernard Shaw on Thursday evening. On show was The Millionairess. Though not one of Shaw’s best creations, the tongue-in-cheek comedy went down well with the packed GD Birla Sabhagar.

The play: Epifania is the millionairess, a haughty heiress who decides to file for a divorce after she catches her husband cheating, but soon backs out. To make matters worse, her boyfriend demands damages from Epifania. When she seems at her wit’s end, she finds love, in a doctor.

The players: Pradip Mitra’s Julius Sagamore, a solicitor to whom Epifania goes to file the divorce, was the high point of the play. Mitra impressed with his use of expressions and sense of timing, under the direction of Kumar Basu.

Rita Roy, however, was disappointing in the title role. Her dialogue delivery was too hasty and she faltered at quite a few places, disturbing the flow.

Arya Gupta as Epifania’s husband Alastair Fitzfassenden was passable, while Kamalini Mukherji was competent as Patricia Smith, Alastair’s mistress.

The costumes: The dresses could certainly have been better. Epifania wore a grey satin frock that badly needed ironing.

The sets: Gitanjali Alagh Jolly designed three different sets that livened up the performance — a plush office with a mahogany table and settees where Sagamore conducts his business, a dingy pub where Epifania drops in with her lover, and a hotel suite with satin curtains and turquoise sofas, into which Patricia and Alastair sneak in for a night.

The backstage boys should have taken more care while changing the sets — the ‘bar’ sign was not removed even after the scene had shifted to the hotel room!

social register

March 11: A dinner date with Amitabh Bachchan at Calcutta Club to raise funds for underprivileged. Members to pay Rs 1,500 and guests Rs 2,500.

March 15: Winners of the Jadavpur University fest to perform at the lounge bar in Princeton Club, 9 pm to11 pm.

March 17: Spirits and Secrets, an English play, to be enacted at Tollygunge Club, 7 pm.