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Merry women
to the fore With the exception
of Death and the Maiden in 2000, Mind Adventures have always made
it a point to take theatre into unusual venues (gardens, night clubs)
in order to prove that the dramatic is not defined by space but
by actions! So, they're going back to the garden that brought them
together during the production of Virgo Intacta in 1999. Join them as
they experiment with yet another theatrical form that is guaranteed
to provide food for thought in more ways than one: Dinner Theatre
under the stars in the gorgeous surroundings of Barefoot's Gallery
706. A Merry Regiment
of Women by Rae Shirley brings some of William Shakespeare's most
unforgettable heroines together for an evening of invigorating altercation
and pun! Mysterious summons from Lady Macbeth draw Juliet and her
nurse, Cleopatra, Desdemona and Kate the Shrew to a meeting that
quite exceeds their expectations. Canvassing
support to expose Shakespeare as a misogynist, Lady Macbeth tries
to rally her troops into protesting that Shakespeare favoured his
male characters, and never gave his women an even break. Things
don't go according to plan however, and the meeting deteriorates
into an acrimonious conflict between two decided factions of thought,
and some very unexpected intrusions from the very elements they
are literally 'battling' about! The cast -
led by Karen Balthazaar (Death and the Maiden, Slag, Virgo Intacta)
includes Dylan Perera, Rochelle Hakel-Ranasinghe, Shanaka Amarasinghe,
Anushka Pereira, Tamara Holsinger, Dilrukshi Fonseka, Piyumi Samaraweera
and Nigel de Zilwa. Tracy Holsinger is the Artistic Director for
Mind Adventures. A Merry Regiment
of Women will be staged on August 30 and 31 at the Gallery 706.
Limited tickets are on sale at Rs.1,200 per head, for a one-act
comedy followed by a delicious dinner provided by Koluu - one of
Colombo's best-loved restauranteurs. Shakespeare buffs will love
this! Music
is their dream
Roots,
their newest single is proof of this. Released a few weeks ago,
it has already taken the music scene in Sri Lanka by storm. Already,
number one on last week's Top 40 countdown on Sun FM and receiving
constant airplay, it has gone down well with music-loving Sri Lankans
who favour a little bit of originality. "The rap
was written by Ruki and Krishan and the chorus by Ranga J of Take
1," says Gresha. Singing since
the tender age of nine, Iraj was judged the All Island Keyboard
Champion twice in a row. He started composing his own tracks and
performed regularly on Silk Sheets, the R&B and hip hop show
on Sun FM hosted by Ruki and Devan. And mind you, this was when
he was sixteen... Gresha, on
the other hand, says that it was her education at the British School,
Saudi Arabia which helped her recognise her talents. "They
taught us how to compose our own music and we were even encouraged
to use the studios in school to make our own music." Having
sung for all the concerts possible, she adds, "I even had my
own band!"
"How
did we get together?" Gresha asks repeating my question quick
to beat Iraj to answer me. "Well... I came back to Sri Lanka
for my A/Ls and then somehow, he had heard that I could sing quite
well, and asked whether we could do something together. I agreed
and it was probably the best decision I made." Her enthusiasm
shines through confirming all that she has said. Their earlier
single together, Down Dirty which was written by Ruki of Urban Sounds
about Chicago went down quite well in Sri Lanka. "It was played
on Sun FM all the time. It was actually No:1 on the R&B and
Hip-Hop countdown and No 5 on the Sun Fm Top 40," beams Iraj
happily. "It is now played in nightclubs all over Newcastle
and Chicago. Yeah, people like it, I guess." "Our families
have been our biggest supporters. They've been with us all the way,
especially my fiance Hiran," adds Gresha. Roots is about ethnicity and how one should relate to the roots of one's own country. Featuring Ruki and Krishan of Urban Sounds, with whom they took part in TNL Onstage, the song with its Punjabi flavour has caught on fast. "The Punjabi chorus was Iraj's idea," says Gresha. "We got it off a sampler which we purchase with our own pocket money." "This is why we need someone to sponsor us and give us a chance as our resources are limited and we cannot manage to hold out over the years with our own money," adds Iraj explaining why they need a recording contract. "We would love to be able to get an international deal, that is our dream." |
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