Celebrating 12 years of enchantment
View(s):The cast and alumni of ‘Pyramus & Thisby’ (a production by Jehan Aloysius) recently celebrated its 12th Anniversary at an event in Colombo. The show is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, set in low- country Sri Lanka.
The original team includes Avanti Perera who, with Jehan Aloysius, performed and arranged the fusion music. Lighting engineer Thushan Dias handled the lighting and has even travelled with the show overseas since the outdoor production. Hilma Salahudeen, who has stitched all the costumes for Jehan’s shows since 1992, undertook the detailed and dramatic costumes for this show.
The show has been staged regularly since the first outdoor show at the St. Joseph’s College Quadrangle in November 2006. Over the years, the magic continued at various locations and cities both locally and overseas with many new actors and dancers joining the team.
The show received standing ovations in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata while representing Sri Lanka at the Bharat Rang Mahotsav in 2016 and most recently at the Theatre Olympics this year. The production has been studied by university students since the first staging as well, with many choosing to write their dissertations and assignments on this vibrant production which brings together a variety of local theatrical traditions and music.
Now Colombo audiences will have a chance to experience this show on July 7 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre.Some of the show’s original leads are flying down for this special show, a statement said. The cast includes Jehan Aloysius, Anuk De Silva, Heshan Perera, Dion Nanayakkara, Roshni Gunaratne, Upekha Daniel, Harshana Rathnayake, Prabhath Devindra and Kavishka Perera.
The Box Office will open on June 15 at the theatre. The updated box plan will be displayed on the Facebook event, ‘Pyramus & Thisby – A Magical Comedy by Jehan Aloysius’.
