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Arts

Stagefright&Panic to reign again
The theatre loving public of Sri Lanka would remember with trepidation the ferocious antics of the members of Stagefright&Panic Inc., who, despite repeated appeals by the authorities carried out a vicious and completely unprovoked attack on the Complete works of William Shakespeare, several years ago. This alleged theatre group have resurfaced after spending voluntary time in an 'institution' and are planning a performance of Nobel Laureate Dario Fo's play "Elizabeth: Almost by chance a Woman".

The play follows the (mis) fortunes of the English monarch Elizabeth I. She is a despotic queen at the end of her reign and is constantly plagued by bad luck. The cast wishes to assure everyone that there is absolutely no subversive satire in this play that could in any way be construed as being critical of Sri Lanka and/or the U.S.A.

Joining the original Stagefright&Panic team of Feroze, Ifaz & Anuruddha are Michael Holsinger, Kisholi de Mel, Ryan Holsinger and Muckshoodh Meerasaibu. All these aspiring thespians have been perspiring for several months and have proudly announced that they have at last succeeded in locating the script of the play. For those of you who saw the 'Compleat Wrks of Shkspr' you will by now probably know better than to expect any kind of serious theatre from these guys.

In order to satisfy their fan club (of nine members) Stagefright&Panic have released the character and cast list, which reads as follows: The role of Queen Elizabeth, despotic monarch of England will be played by Anuruddha Fernando. The mercurial Ifaz Bin Jameel returns to the stage after his period of hibernation as the Queen's long suffering Police Chief with great ambitions, Martha, Elizabeth's long-suffering maidservant cum confidante will be played by Kisholi de Mel. Michael Holsinger plays the role of Mama Zaza, the Queen's transvestite make-up artist, Ryan Holsinger, makes a 'brief' appearance as Elizabeth's young lover and Muckshoodh Meerasaibu plays the Assassinating Priest.

The play is directed by Feroze Kamardeen and Ifaz Bin Jameel and produced by Sirraj Abdul Hameed and Leyon Rajaratne for StageLight&Magic Inc.. This play will no doubt go down in the annals (or was it anals) of English theatre in Sri Lanka. In addition to squeezing Anuruddha into a dress 3 sizes too small for him, Michael plans to introduce specially trained breast-biting bees into the Wendt. Complete with a wooden horse which has a slight bladder problem and a police chief who loves a bit of brutality, Elizabeth: Almost by chance a Woman explores the world of the despot. The beauty of the play is that it does not criticize despots, in fact it is a play highlighting the many problems that depots have and portrays despots as really lovely people who have so much on their hands (and in their pockets).

The play is scheduled to go on the boards of the Lionel Wendt Theatre from June 24 to June 26. Due to the use of explicit language (which forms the major part of these guys' vocabulary) suggestive references and sexual innuendo (which they plan to pass off for high-brow theatre), the play will be restricted to those over 18 years. Anyone under this age would require to be accompanied by a parent or an adult guardian.

Elizabeth: Almost by chance a Woman is sponsored by Alankara, the World of Diamonds. Alankara have signed an exclusive three-year sponsorship deal with StageLight&Magic Inc., to be an official sponsor of all StageLight&Magic Inc., theatre productions.

The Sunday Times which has been involved with every single theatre effort of StageLight-&Magic Inc., is the official Sunday newspaper of the production and The Daily Mirror is the official daily newspaper. YES FM is the official Electronic Media Sponsor. Sonali White of the Haddai Label will provide the costumes for the production. The hair and make up will be by Rumours Salon.

Elizabeth: Almost by chance a Woman, will be at the Lionel Wendt on June 24, 25 and 26. Box plan and tickets will be at the Wendt two days after they have been collected from the printers.

Designing the Japanese way
The Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation’s exhibition of contemporary Japanese architecture is now on. It exhibits designs by renowned Japanese architects covering ten years between 1985 and 1996.

The exhibition is now on in Kandy in collaboration with the Kandy Municipal Public Library, at the E.L. Senanayake Children's Library Hall, till May 9.
The exhibition will be held in Colombo, in collaboration with the Public Library of Colombo from May 13 to 16 at the main auditorium of the Public Library.

Another look at the unknown artiste
Fareed Uduman (1917-1985) was a truly creative and inspired unknown artist, who for his own impelling reasons and without encouragement from the public or an artistic brotherhood, over his lifetime made dozens of highly original paintings.

All of them were undated and unsigned. He painted on cardboard, hardboard, plywood or on any other material he could lay his hands on. He nailed these to the wall and painted beautiful pictures that nobody understood. Most of them ended up behind cupboards and doors cobwebbed, dusty and forgotten: pieces of his life, heart and soul; the unquenchable fire that raged within.

An engima to most of his family and friends, he remained a zealous non-conformist right up to the end. Although born a Muslim he called himself a humanist, an atheist, a communist and a rationalist. Although most of his early works have perished the family have managed to retrieve around 35 paintings. A posthumous exhibition of his works "Odd Man Out" was held at Gallery 706 in 1993, which amazed viewers. None of the paintings were for sale. Ellen Dissanayake reviewed the exhibition and her greatest tribute was comparing him to Justin Deraniyagala.

One of his sons, Jomo Uduman has now published a book that presents his works in brilliant colour. The book also includes his Cartoons published by "The Nation" (an LSSP weekly) which displays his remarkable awareness of local and world politics and his (obvious) communistic learnings. Also included are some remarkable unpublished Poems.

Fareed Uduman, Paintings, Poems and Cartoons will be launched at the Dienge Gallery (54, Kitulwatte Road, Elvitigala Mawatha, Colombo 8) on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15. An exhibition of selected paintings, poems and catroons will also be on display.

Putting Lanka in step with changing movements
Dancer and choreographer Kapila Palihawadana, back from Germany after seven months training in Modern Dance with well known dance companies of Germany hopes to introduce new ideas and techniques to young people in Sri Lanka. His workshop on modern dance will start today, Sunday, May 8 at the Goethe Institute Colombo, 37 Gregory's Road, Colombo 7. Enrolments will be on May 8, (today) and May 16, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Goethe Institute. Here Kapila speaks of dance and his own passion for something new.

How did you start your dancing career?
When I was in school I studied Kandyan dance and I was the only guy really interested in it. After that I went to Channa Upuli Performing Arts School to learn body language in dance. After working as a member of the ensemble and being one of the senior instructors for some time, I suddenly stopped dancing because I was a bit bored doing routine work.

It was at this time that I joined the University of Kelaniya to study Russian and German at the Department of Modern Languages. After graduation, I joined Oosha Saravanamutthu at her school Oosha Garten of Ballet, where I had exposure to Classical Ballet. I was the principal dancer at the "Joie de la dance" in 2003. I am still working with Oosha because I believe I need a good training environment.

How do you feel being a choreographer?
I believe that one cannot be a good choreographer without being a good dancer. When a choreographer stops dancing because he is a teacher, his creativity becomes limited. Being a dancer over the years has helped me in choreography. To choreograph, you need good dancers who understand the dance language. This is why I am interested in developing the contemporary Sri Lankan dance language.

How did you get a scholarship to Germany?
I was invited to do a "performance type of choreography" for a stage play directed by Dr. Asoka de Zoysa, a German classic called "Woyzeck". There was a chorus on stage, which articulated through movement.

Is body movement to music not ballet?
No, ballet is varied today and it is essentially governed by a wide repertoire of steps, jumps or turns, which have their classical origin in France. What I have been concentrating on since "Woyzeck" is called "Modern Dance". The dancer should not express himself through the music but he has to listen to his body and mind and move according to that. In ballet the dancer is trying to tell a story to movements created by the ballet master or the choreographer. There is very little freedom for individual expression in classical ballet for the dancer.

In modern dance the dancer has complete freedom of body movement. One is not restricted by the music and the music need not always convey the same mood and sentiment expressed by the dancer, which is generally the case in ballet. Very often when working out a piece, one has no music or beat at the start. We feel that without using music, we are able to dance more expressively.

After "Woyzeck" I was invited to work in the Theertha Artists' Camp in Lunuganga in 2003. There I did a performance called "Symbolic Man" with a mosquito net. This was seen by lots of people. The director of the Goethe Institute Mr. Broenner also saw this and he liked it. It was after this that I was offered the scholarship to Germany to explore the many fields of Modern Dance.

What is the difference between modern dance in Germany and ballet Sri Lanka.
Over here everybody is trying to do the same thing without trying something new. But in Europe things are always changing. Dancers are individualistic and think in diverse ways. One of the most contrasting features is that over there they don't give importance to the physical beauty of a dancer. But in Sri Lanka, most of the time it is only beautiful people who get the opportunity to dance. Dancers have to conform to a "standard body" and most of the time there is very little personality behind the body.

Dancers are crammed into a framework of dancing "beautifully" and this is based on stereotyped movements.

Tell us about your dance troupe nATANDA
I started it about two years ago in a small way, with the main aim of doing something new.

What are your plans?
I want to start off with a workshop at the Goethe Institute and at the end of it I will select some dancers for my forthcoming production in November. I would like young people who are interested in modern dance and theatre dance to join in. You don't have to be a dancer or have that perfect body, as I mentioned earlier. I also hope to work with some German dancers who will be coming here.

Sri Lanka has a rich tradition in what one may call "performance". We do not have to ape the West and copy western movements. Our healing rituals have a variety of body movements and our drums are an excellent source of inspiration. Our young people are talented and I believe through practice and training their creative energy can be liberated and we could create a form of expression with a pronounced Sri Lankan identity

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