Best of the Bard

By Duvindi Illankoon

St. Bridget’s Convent and Ananda College emerged champions at this year’s Inter-School Shakespeare Drama Competition

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Cast members of St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo receiving the main award

The Inter-school Shakespeare Drama Competition 2014, jointly organised by the Colombo YMCA and Rotary Club of Colombo North drew to a conclusion recently.

Girls’ School Finals
It was a grand beginning as Devi Balika Vidyalaya ascended the stage with their version of ‘A Comedy of Errors’. At the fully packed auditorium of Bishop’s College, where both finals-Girls and Boys was held recently.

The Devi Balika Vidyalaya girls managed to draw laughs and elicit applause with their conventional, and fresh take on the play. They were commended also by the panel of judges for their narrative, smoothly moving into slapstick as they were meant to.

This was immediately followed by Newstead Girls College’s impassioned, stark version of Macbeth; the judges commended the play and both leads on their “strong, bold and dark” performances but wondered if perhaps both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were portrayed a little two-dimensionally. Macbeth’s transition did not come through, they felt, and Lady Macbeth may have missed out on her character’s subtleties. The last two schools for the evening inclued St. Bridget’s Convent with ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’, which had two extremely strong leads playing Mistresses Page and Ford; the duo’s cackling laughter at the fate of the nefarious Sir John Falstaff’s fate coupled with great chemistry meant the audience laughed in all the right places. The judges thought that the play was a “tight, well directed piece” and commended the school on their ensemble and set.

Best Stagecraft - St. Peter’s College

Bishop’s College also staged The Merry Wives of Windsor, which the judges thought had a “strong opening”. They pointed out if perhaps there was enough distinction between Mistresses Page and Ford and if the excerpt-which included two visits by Sir Falstaff and two pranks by the two women-was the best choice. Did the players have enough scope to build character, was the question asked by the judges.

Boys’ School finals
It was a second year running to be in the finals of the inter-school Shakespeare Drama competition for the cast of Ananda College, who began the evening with a traditional take on Timon of Athens. The timeless tale of the fickleness of material wealth and fair weather friends was captured well by the boys, who breathed life into the play with a clever use of props. The judges agreed, also noting that judicious editing of the script ensured that the plot was “very quickly established”. The cast was commended for their strong ensemble playing, though Timon could have been more consistent, they felt. Timon’s man servant Flavius was singled out for his well thought out performance. Champions in 2012, D.S. Senanayake College was next with their take on Macbeth; the play began with the three witches, who snarled and hissed their way through a strong opening (frightening an entire front row when one leapt from the stage!). A significant number of young actors were used, rather innovatively, as live props. The judges speculated if Macbeth, who started off well, could perhaps have come across as a little weak and whether he and Lady Macbeth were able to “spur each other on” in their gradual descent to evil.

Best Novice School (Boys) - St. Michael’s College, Batticaloa

Maris Stella drew much laughter with their version of ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’. The undoubted star of the evening was the heavily mustachioed Dr. Caius, portrayed with a delightful parody of a French accent. While the cast was commended on a “sprightly performance” the judges questioned if the play had enough subtlety, noting that there was a constant pace throughout, which may have contributed to a lack of nuance.

St. Benedict’s College ended the evening with their appropriately dark take on Richard III. The title character was the evening’s star, portraying the malicious, villainous Richard with ease.

The school was commended for their refreshing use of live music (the choir stepped in as extras) and the entire cast was praised for keeping it together during a particularly loud bout of dance music from the event next door. “Richard got the villainy right,” but Lady Anne’s soliloquy “could have been a little less paced out,”was the consensus of the judges.

GIRLS’ FINAL at a glance
Champion-St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo
1st runner up-Devi Balika Vidyalaya
2nd runner up-Newstead Girls College
3rd runner up-Bishop’s College
Best Stagecraft-St. Bridget’s Covent
Best Novice School-Wycherly International School
Best Actress-Aqilah Abdeen (Gateway College, Rajagiriya) & Minoli Senapathy (Ave Maria Convent Negombo)
Best Supporting Actress-Rozanne Nelisa Algama (Good Shepherd Convent Colombo13)

Best Supporting Actor- Thesath Wijesiri (D.S. Senanayake College)

BOYS’ FINAL at a glance

Champion-Ananda College
1st runner up-St. Benedict’s College
2nd runner up-Maris Stella College
3rd runner up-D.S. Senanayake College
Best Stagecraft – St. Peter’s College
Best Novice School-St. Michael’s College, Batticaloa
Best Actor-Sharlan Benedict (St. Benedict’s College)
Best Supporting Actor- Thesath Wijesiri (D.S. Senanayake College)