They thrashed out violence

By Passana Gunasekera

The predominant theme was violence, the phenomenon that is gripping this country. The novelty lay in the handling of scripts to gain an edge over their competitors. The theatrical devices too at times went beyond the limited scripts.

Having been at the Inter-School Drama Competitions organized by the Interact Club of Royal College almost every year, I thought it couldn't get any better, but realised it could.

At the 14th Annual Inter-School Drama Competition held last week at the Wendt, the young actors and actresses were brimming with enthusiasm.

The curtain raiser by Methodist College dealt with a controversial social issue - homosexuality. It was all there, the stereotypical parents, the demanding son-in-law in full black, the daughter, in black and white, trapped in a loveless marriage and the homosexual son, in a coloured costume to reveal the non- conformity with accepted norms.

Making use merely of the apron stage (the front portion of the stage), the characters addressed each other, without making eye contact. It was perhaps a novel concept, though the audience found it distracting. Visakha Vidyalaya was next with their playlet 'Progress'. A scientist succeeds in inventing a bomb that would destroy millions, on the death anniversary of his nephew, a victim of war. His sister in agony over her son's death, pleads with him to discard his invention for the sake of other suffering mothers. Opening with a flashback of the mother and son, the audience is treated to a series of retrospective scenes on the left of the stage throughout the play, while the mother reminisces the past quite emotionally on the right side. But it's of no avail. The scientist refuses and she stabs him. He dies in a pool of blood. A well-rounded performance.

In 'Alarm Clock', Trinity College, Kandy came up with a convoluted script. Sandwiched between two heavy dramas, it was entertaining but at the same time too violent.

This play stood out in areas of make-up and costumes. However, indistinct speech by some characters was a drawback, though the commando battalion acting on instinct was so natural when shrieking that the audience literally jumped out of their skin.

The final presentation, by D. S. Senanayake Vidyalaya depicted the greed for power. Despite the apt storyline it carried too much interaction on stage and seemed to create an overlap between what was said by one party and the other.

Much talent was displayed by all schools. Regrettably, the atmosphere was marred by boisterous spectators, while the air-conditioning was intolerable.

How do schoolchildren benefit by participating in such events? The Co-Project Chairman of the Interact Club of Royal College, Sajith Amendra says, 'Those who make it big in international drama circles are people who have started on the small stage in school. This is an ideal opportunity to rid yourself of your inhibitions.'

It gives the students exposure to deal with people and organize everything on their own, he said, while other participants added that they made many new friends.

Visakha Vidyalaya bagged the trophy for the Best Overall Performance for the second consecutive year.

Trinity College walked away with the Runners-Up trophy and the Best Outstation School trophy, while Methodist College was awarded the trophy for the Best Script.

Nilakshi Parndigamage of Visakha Vidyalaya and Sandamali Wijeratne of Methodist College shared the trophy for the Best-Performance.

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