A platform for young actors
It was an exciting evening for the young drama cast of St Joseph’s College (SJC), who bagged the first ever Inter-School House Cup, which was held at the British School Auditorium recently.
Ananda college, Pix by- Anuradha Bandara
The competition was organized by Cold Theatre 7 (CT7) with the intention of building a platform for young actors to showcase their talents. The production teams from the participating schools were selected following an inter-house drama contest, held in their respective schools. The evening’s productions were judged by a panel which included Jerome L. De Silva, Michelle Herft, Yashoda Wimaladharma and Shanuki De Alwis.
“The Caucasian Chalk Circle” was the evening’s winner –a production staged by St Joseph’s College. The other competing schools included were Royal College, Ananda College and Lyceum International. St Joseph’s College attempted to recreate the last scene of the play. It opened up into a court case between two characters ‘Grusha’ (Niven Nanayakkara) and ‘Natalia’ (Minura Manchanayake).‘Grusha’ was the former maid of the Caucasian Governor, who served the Grand Duke. After the Governor was killed by his brother the ‘Fat Prince’, ‘Natalia’, the Governor’s wife flees. In her haste she forgets her son ‘Michael’.
‘Michael’ is looked after by ‘Grusha’. Sooner Natalia returns for her son, without whom she is unable to claim the Governor’s estate. Their case is assigned to‘Azdak’ (Janeth Fernandopulle), a village clerk turned judge, because of his loyalty to the Grand Duke. Azdak demands that Grusha and Natalia pull the boy from a chalked circle on the floor. This was a test he devised to determine the mother of the child.
As the scene unfolded, the tension up onstage, was eminent. The emotion on the faces of the actors, especially Grusha and her fear for the boy, added to the setting.
The character of Azdak himself was imposing as he sat on a large law book arguing with the defence, which accused him of bribery.His performance onstage earned him the award for the best actor, that evening. Minura Manchanayake’s performance won him a joint award for the best supporting actress.
Royal College
It was clear that the play’s success was owed to its ensemble cast. It was their team effort which made it stand out the judges claimed.
Royal College put on an equally challenging performance with their play “Psych”, and was awarded the runners up trophy. ‘Psych’ revolved around a simple misunderstanding, when Mrs. Victoria Callaghan (Saveen Bulumulla) accidentally sends Dr. Perkins (Suneragiri Liyanage) a bouquet of roses, which were meant for her husband. The Perkins couple were clearly the stand out acts, which left the crowd in stitches. Aside from them, Yehan Liyanage’s portrayal of the delivery boy, though a minor one in the play, also stood out, owing to his splendid acting.
Lyceum International took to the stage with their rendition of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ however the judge’s felt that a two and a half hour long Shakespearean play should not have been restrained to 25 minutes. They opined that theater goers often go to listen to Shakespeare and not necessarily to watch as the beauty of a Shakespearean play is in its language.
When it came to the special effects and sounds, the cast’s execution was perfect. They managed to create that eeriness in the air as Macbeth (Aditha Ranatunge) walked on stage for the first time. Furthermore the three witches slowly creeping up the platform, with their perfect zombie like depiction sent shivers across the room.
In terms of the acting, Lady Macbeth’s (Theruni Galagedera) performance stood out from the rest. This earned her the joint award for the best supporting actress. Her timing was exceptional as the judges point out.
Ranish Kromodoyo’s portrayal of Macduff was also filled with energy. His emotional performance, when he discovers his wife and child have been slaughtered, was certainly felt across the room. His only flaw came about when he resorted to strangling Macbeth (after having broken his sword in the scuffle). This was noted by the judges.
Ananda College’s production, ‘Ravin’s story’ was a depiction of an average teenage school boywho is misunderstood by both his parents and friends. Aside from his somewhat nervous start, the lead role, Ravin (Malith Kulathilake) built his confidence as the plot developed. His mother’s character, Kokila (Haritha Gamage) also proved to be a fairly good supportive role. However as the judges pointed out, it was definitely the barman in the play, Keerthi, who stood out.
The Inter-school House Cup did bring out the best in the four schools. Furthermore the competition also presented awards for those students behind the scenes such as the backstage crew, costumes, make-up etc. - Pix by- Anuradha Bandara
St. Joseph’s College
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Janeth Fernandopulle accepting the award for the best Actor
Niven Fernando accpeting the award for the best female portrayal
Ranish Kromodoyo accepting the award for the best supporting actor
SJC directors Joshua Perera (Left) and Melantha Cruse (Right) accepting the award for the winning school
Theruni Galagedera and Minura Manchanayake accepting the joint award for the best supporting actress