Getting to the heart of feminine perception
Spirits, magic, adventure, folklore and myths — ‘Maya’, a Mind Adventures (MA) production, will get underway at the Lionel Wendt from September 6-8 and promises to be a theatrical masterpiece in terms of storytelling, plot and acting.
The cast in rehearsal. Pix by Sameera Weerasekera
“Maya is a response to the way women are traditionally depicted in Sri Lankan myths,” says Artistic Director Tracy Holsinger, who directed and wrote the play.
With the company known for their contemporary and socially conscious brand of theatre, and Tracy’s theatre work focused on socio-political issues of special relevance to Sri Lanka, Maya is a story that hopes to leave a positive impression of a role model for children and adults alike.
“This (the story) really came from a desire to create a positive role model for girls to show, females of different ages fighting back what is expected of them, the restrictions and constraints that are placed upon them,” says Tracy.
“The style of playing is a kind of storytelling. You kind of see the actors changing costumes and all that as they never go off stage. Even the set kind of changes during the play itself,” she shares.
As per set design, part of the concept is to work with recycled items. The team wishes to create something familiar but looks different, as they use items that they could find.
The play is predominately non-verbal, relying on the ability of the actors to use their bodies and movement to convey the story.
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The reasoning behind this was to draw in a larger trilingual audience. For vital points where dialogue is necessary, a projector will convey the plot in Sinhala, English and Tamil in the backdrop.
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Another interesting aspect of the play is the music. Musical Director Ruvin de Silva calls it an exciting project as he gets the opportunity to create different sounds through the instruments they found and made.
“Everything has been made by us, from the sounds, to the story, to the pieces and it’s all original. This is what makes it different,” he further elaborated.
From unheard of instruments such as ‘thundercans’ to the traditional Sri Lankan ‘beraya’ (drums), the actors themselves will perform the music using a mix of vocals, oriental and unique instruments.
Tickets for the show are available at the Lionel Wendt and are priced at Rs.2500, Rs.2000, Rs.1500, Rs.1000 and Rs. 800. A discount will be given to university students with their student IDs.