Young theatre group brings back old familiar “Well Mudaliyar”
Jaliya Wijewardene
Amphitheatre Productions is bringing back “Well, Mudaliyar!”,the hit comedy by H. C. N. de Lanerolle and E. M. W. Joseph to the Lionel Wendt Theatre at 7.30 p.m. on March 23, 24 and 25. The play stars Yasal Ruhunage, Kavinda Gunasekara, Shenilka Perera, Sahan Wijewardene, Anaz Badurdeen, Barana Waidyathilake, Minoli Pieris and Shiwanthi Kahandaliyanage.
“Well, Mudaliyar!” is set in early 20th century Ceylon and focuses on the life of a Mudaliyar, a village chief, who is struggling to get out of debt by arranging good marriages for his children. Abraham the notary, is socially inferior to the Mudaliyar but financially well heeled and is set on using his money to gain social prestige. “Well, Mudaliyar!” is an entertaining comedy but at the same time it’s an accurate representation of the Sri Lankan society,” says director Jaliya Wijewardene.
Since this is a production that has been staged many times before, the story is one that is familiar to audiences. The cast is trying to tell the story the way the playwright intended it to be told and in doing so, pay homage to the original play, Jaliya says. Explaining that Lanerolle was a playwright who put a lot of effort into describing the context of each and every single detail of the script through many footnotes Jaliya says his team is trying to take advantage of this and make their characterization more authentic.
“Well, Mudaliyar!” is Amphitheatre’s third effort at bringing Lanerolle’s plays to stage. Their previous productions, “The Senator” and “Fifty-Fifty” were political satires which too were very relevant to the current political scenario of Sri Lanka.
Amphitheatre Productions came together in May 2016 through the collective efforts of Yasal Ruhunage and Jaliya Wijewardane who were soon joined by other theatre enthusiasts. Having started with just four or five, Jaliya and his team with the support of their friends have now grown into a theatre group of more than 15 people. Most of the group have very busy day jobs but bring with them good experience in theatre, says Jaliya. The team at Amphitheatre is united by their love and passion for theatre. However financial support is needed to put up a play and the director states that the difficulties in getting corporate sponsorships and getting people to come watch a play are challenges they face when putting together a production.
It has been almost 19 years since “Well, Mudaliyar!” was last performed at the Lionel Wendt. Though daunting, because the expectations are so high, the production has been received good responses and the group hopes that it will translate into a good turnout.
Amphitheatre Productions presents ‘Well Mudaliyar!” together with their print media partners, the Sunday Times, Daily FT, Daily Mirror and Life Online, Electronic media partners Yes FM and Legends, Promotional partners Drama Sri Lanka and decibel.lk and corporate partners FUJI Filters and SH advertising. Tickets priced at Rs. 3000, Rs. 2000, Rs. 1000 (downstairs –reserved) and Rs. 800 (Balcony). are available now at the Lionel Wendt and through the Lionel Wendt website.