A rebel with a pen
Acting and play writing has always run through the veins of Dhisal Shavinda Kapuge, an upcoming and talented playwright from Kandy. A past student of Trinity College and currently reading for his B.A. at the University of Peradeniya, Dhisal’s passion for acting started at the age of 13 when he took part in school plays for the Interschool Shakespeare Drama Competitions. He built his experience by making sure to take part in a play every year in school, developing his talent as an actor before he becomes a playwright. Today, at 22, Dhisal has directed two original productions and five successful plays and recently brought an original production to the stage in Kandy.
A production directed by Dhisal. Pic courtesy Medha Herath
Dhisal’s passion for producing his own plays comes from directing small skits in school, he says, where he received the opportunity to direct and produce many of the school plays at various events. One of his favourite moments as an actor was being on tour in India, in the cast of the play, 21st Century Monk, with Sri Theatre Company. Still, he points out that he is much better as a director than an actor. After entering the Faculty of Arts in University of Peradeniya, Dhisal was given the chance to direct “Media”, a play by the tragedian of classical Athens, Euripides. It became an instant hit within the university audience, landing him the chance to do an original production.
His next major play comes into the spotlight as ‘Hecuba’, a “modern tragedy” inspired by Greek mythology and Euripides. “I wanted to make it my own, so I made a new story, made it into a tragedy with lots of dark humour, and added rock music,” he said, explaining that his work leans majorly towards dark humour and unexpected twists that traditional play enthusiast would not expect. Hecuba was received with much enthusiasm and considered as his first major production.
A student of Jehan Aloysius – the playwright and founder of CentreStage Productions, Dhisal has been an ardent follower of theatre and arts, learning the subject of theatre and studying its dynamics and structure and experimenting with new ways of directing a play on stage.
“I am a huge rule breaker. I want to bring out my own style in theater,” he explains, noting that his plays violate a lot of dramatic rules. But in the world of art, there should be no rules, only simple guidelines, he says, so that the flow of expression will not be restricted unfairly. Making something bold and daring that will both shock and captivate the audience is what he wants his signature move to be. This is also reflected in his plays, with such themes as gender, social inequality, to class and racial divisions – he tries to bring out unique personal stories to light, and then leaves it in the hands of the audience, to decide whether the story is relevant or not.
Dhisal
His thoughts on where theater stands today, “In Sri Lanka, theater doesn’t get the place it deserves because individual originality isn’t very well received.” He added that “It’s either a comedy or tragedy, or an adaptation, social issues and entertainment always lie in two extremes. A successful play is one that brings these two together and leaves the audience staring in the face of something they refused to acknowledge.”
For Dhisal, being a playwright is the bridge to his ultimate ambition of film directing, while his unique plays that are receiving fast attention in the hill-country community are a reflection of the rebel in him, who is determined to make his mark.
(KC)