Guru of Chai gives a wonderful performance

The Guru of Chai stepped out onto the stage at the Great Lake Centre Theatre in Taupo and announced to the full house: ‘‘Tonight, your problems will be gone guaranteed’’.

The Guru of Chai (Jacob Rajan) and his musician sidekick (Dave Ward) took us to the streets of India and for 90 minutes, we forgot where we were.

The plot is fairly simple: The Guru of Chai, a loveable nuisance of a character with a knack for finding

Rajan has wowed theatre-goers many times before, playing multiple roles in Krishnan’s Dairy and The Candlestick Maker.

He follows a similar recipe in the Guru of Chai, and brings characters to life so vividly, one can tell each of the seven sisters apart.

Like all good plays, there’s a delicious combination of romance, mystery, melodrama and comedy. It ends with a simple message about making your own destiny.

Sitting through theatre can be a difficult exercise.

Even if it’s halfway decent, the mind can wander and the stomach grumble.

But then something comes along that reminds you why you bother. Guru of Chai is performed with an energy that doesn’t translate onto film, and for the price of a ticket to the theatre, you get to travel all the way to India.

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