Young thespians at Colombo International School take on ‘Skellig’
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Science and spirituality, two subjects that usually don’t mix, come together in ‘Skellig,’ a production by the students of the Colombo International School, based on David Almond’s award-winning children’s novel.
The production strays from the norms of slapstick and opts for a thought-provoking, choice, for the cast and audience.
It has moonlight and owls, magic and poetry; conjecturing images on evolution, from birds to apes and Darwin; Chinese takeout, soccer games and mended hearts; helplessness and hope; tragedies and miracles, organizers said of the production, in a brief.
Young Michael, played by Rishane Dassanayake, has just moved in with his father (Deyhan Kamalgoda) and pregnant mother (Eshana Amarasinghe) to an old but bigger house, to accommodate their growing family.
The baby, born prematurely, is gravely ill and fighting for her life. Left to his own devices, Michael, against his parent’s strict warning, enters the rickety garage on the property.
Here he discovers a poor man who takes shelter there, and to whom Michael delivers aspirin and Chinese leftovers. This is the character who will later be known as Skellig (played by Kenula De Alwis).
To make sure he hasn’t imagined the strange discovery, Michael asks his neighbor and new friend, Mina (MahimaPassela), to accompany him.
Homes chooled and wise beyond her years, Mina re-assures Michael that “truth and dreams are always muddled,” together, they find that Skellig is both real and surreal… with great bird wings on his shoulders. Their interaction with Skellig changes their lives and those of the people they love.
In a seemingly normal context of a middleclass family undergoing a trying time, the play, side-steps the obvious, and challenges conventions.
It challenges if it is only what viewers see and know that is real, or if reality is only bound by one’s imagination.
The play is directed by Vinodh Senadeera and will go on the boards of the CIS auditorium on February, 12. Tickets are on sale at the school reception