Young thespians take the stage at ‘Drama Comp’
“My people, long have we waited for this day. Our Sage has come to us. Our saviour is here,” echoed a young actor from the Ananda College drama team.
A post apocalyptic wasteland, the production depicts the confusion created amongst villagers due to the confrontations between a self-proclaimed sage and an actual actual Sage filled with eternal wisdom.
Bringing forward the range of talents of the school going youth to the fore, the semi-final round of the Inter- School Drama Competition 2015 oraganised by the interact club of Royal College, Drama Competition went on the boards of the Lionel Wendt Theatre recently.
Competing at the semi final round were – St. Peter’s College Colombo, St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo, Mahamaya Girl’s College Kandy, Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo and Ananda College, Colombo. With sharp story lines, their productions revolved around a varied genre of theatre from the familiar classics to their own innovative scripts.
St. Peter’s College presented their version of Norman Mckinnel’s ‘The Bishop’s Candlesticks’ an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s ‘Les Miserable’ it was also the evening’s curtain-raiser. With captivating dialogues, poignant moments and some humour thrown in at times, the Peterites acted out the drama with discipline and vigour.
A production filled with emotional intensity, the drama acted out by St. Bridget’s Convent depicted a current social issue -teenage suicide with a focus on life after, specially the agony of the victim as much as the loved ones left behind. Taking the audince through a hillarious journey on a course of action taking place inside a financial institution and the characters present therein- a chairman, his wife, the bookeeper and a destituted lady customer was the cast of Mahamaya Girls’ College, Kandy who brought to life a Russian comedy written by Anton Chekhov.
Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo got the audience thinking on what it would be like to be awake when the rest of the world is asleep through a play that unfolds a bunch of teen characters searching their way for connections during the wee hours of the morning. The five dramas presented on stage were an absolute treat for the audince. Stage performances apart, the young actors’ attention to detail was evident in the manner in which stage props, costumes and lighting was handled through performances.
Qualifying for the finals on May 13 are the following schools- St. Peter’s Collge, St. Bridget’s Convent and Visakha Vidyalaya.