News
President to intervene over ‘Pusswedilla’ ban
President Rajapaksa is to intervene in the issue that arose after the Censor Board refused to approve the script of another edition of a satirical play ‘Pusswedilla’ – “The Common Welthings Summit.” Director and playwright Feroze Kamardeen told the Sunday Times that the President has said he will personally look into the matter.
The 12 page script of the Pusswedilla 4.1 “The Common Welthings Summit” has been handed over to the Public Performances Board (the Censor Board) on November 18. Mr. Kamardeen received a reply from the Board on November 28 intimating that the show will not be approved for public performance and that a licence will not be given.
The show was due to be staged as a complimentary event at the S’ Thomas College musical event on November 30.
“We didn’t want to disappoint our audience so we asked the Board what we can take out of the script to dilute it. But the Board refused to even allow the script to be amended. It was simply banned,” said director Feroze Kamardeen.
According to him, the Censor Board had given three reasons as to why this play was not stageworthy. “The PPB has interpreted a particular scene as one depicting there was a secret agreement between two countries which could be identified. The censors had failed to see it for what it was a telephone call between two fictional world leaders. The second issue raised by the PPB was that the play makes direct reference to world leaders by name. For example Mannie Mohan was interested in our fish and I don’t think there is any problem with this,” he said.
PPB Chairman Gamini Sumanasekara said three members who read the script said it was written in English and Sinhala and a play should be written only in one language. Arts and Culture Minister T B. Ekanayake said the report has still not been handed over to him.