Sunday Times 2
A perfectionist at the helm
When all else fails, make your way to the kattadiya – that’s a mantra that Ralahamy has lived with for much of his lifetime. Thus when he dreams that he will defeat the Japanese during the Second World War Ralahamy just knows that hooniyam must play a major role-and so, armed with the very best of the occult, Ralahamy begins his quest to become the Dictator of Ceylon.
H.C.N. De Lanerolle’s ‘The Dictator’ was penned in the 50s; at the time, it was the legendary E.C.B. Wijesinghe who would take on the role of Ralahamy. This time around veteran theatre actor Wijerathne Warakagoda will step into these considerably big shoes at the Punchi Theatre in Borella. Namel Weeramuni directs.
Weeramuni is not a name or face that calls for extensive introduction. For decades he has graced theatre as a memorable actor and an extremely accomplished director. Plays such as ‘Golu Birinda’ and ‘Nattukkari’ are remembered with fondness by local theatre-goers; Weeramuni himself remembers what he calls “the golden era of the theatre’ with a great deal of nostalgia. “We had such a civilised, disciplined crowd attending the theatre back in the day,” he remembers. “It was like attending a pageant, watching the audience. Elegantly dressed, so well turned out- and a full house every night.”
This is not the only thing the director misses about his heyday. In those early years Weeramuni himself was known as (ironically) ‘the dictator’. He would drive his actors towards perfection relentlessly until, on occasion, they would threaten to quit (Upali Attanayake almost did when they made Nattukkari in 1970 – he was persuaded to stay, and went on to receive critical acclaim). These days Weeramuni finds himself a much more lenient man. He doesn’t like it, but has had to loosen the reins. “Actors don’t want to work with you otherwise,” he sighs. “Because of this I feel unable to fully impose of own self onto the play.”
The real dictator, or at least De Lanerolle’s memorable creation, is a character that the director is very fond of. The problem of relevancy comes up (the play is set in wartime Ceylon, and takes a very much colonial attitude towards life in general). Weeramuni, however, believes there are parallels. “It’s definitely applicable to the present time to a certain extent,” he tells us. “The politics and the firm belief in the occult for example, and the universal theme of a man who is dominated by his wife. These things never change.”
Veteran director Namel Weeramuni. Pic by Anuradha Bandara
The four-act play will star Warakagoda as Ralahamy, Malini Weeramuni as Hamine and Daya Tennekoon as Mahattaya alongside several other actors from both the Sinhala and English language theatre. Weeramuni is determinedly using some of his favourite actors from the Sinhala theatre stage for a play in English. The actors bring an element of authenticity, he explains; Ralahamy is a conventional island man and so is his wife.
The use of satire in The Dictator is something else to watch out for-”laughing at ourselves” is something that Weeramuni is very much in favour of. It’s also something he believes that English theatre offers on a more frequent level. “A lot of English theatre-goers think that Sinhala theatre is in a better place but I find it to be the other way around these days,” he says. “I find more and more that people only want to watch slapstick comedies with actors they’re familiar with in the Sinhala language medium. Most of these plays don’t even make any sense (…) where is theatre going to go from here?”
He hopes it will move on to a better, more experimental phase. Weeramuni admires in particular the original work of directors Jehan Aloysius and Feroze Kamardeen (for the Noir festival). In Aloysius he recognises something of the taskmaster he used to be. “If you watch some of the most critically acclaimed plays in the world” he says “you will note that each have had a perfectionist for a director. That’s what theatre needs.”
Next week: meet the cast!
Catch ‘The Dictator’ from October 20-25 at the Namel Malini Punchi Theatre in Borella from 7 p.m. onwards. Tickets available at the venue.