Plus

Arts

Scenes close to the heart

Palitha Gunasinghe is known for his sensitive use of water colours and in his fourth exhibition which will be held from September 25 to 31 at the Lionel Wendt Gallery, he continues to progress in his chosen field.

He will exhibit some 50 paintings, most done in the past year and says he has used more of the wash colour technique this time. Preferring not to limit himself to any set theme, his exhibition this year is simply titled Water Colour Paintings.

Subjects close to his heart-scenes of the seashore, the fisher folk in their daily labours, the ancient heritage of our land, the rough majesty of temple architecture, the tranquil pastoral landscapes of rural Lanka are all presented with Palitha's own distinctive touch.

An artist who has achieved much in his relative youth (he is just 41), Palitha has won many awards, most recently the State award for water colour painting 2002. He is also a stamp designer of some repute, having over 70 stamps to his credit, notably to mark Sri Lanka's 50th anniversary of independence, for the dawn of the millennium and recently an oblong stamp in honour of the 25th anniversary of the BMICH.

Starting off his working life in advertising and the creative arts, Palitha decided some years ago that his time would be better spent painting and is now fully immersed in the world of art. His exhibition is open from 8 a.m to 8 p.m. each day.

Off the TV and on to the Wendt for some laughter
Indu Dharmasena's play 'Madai Tommiya Colamba Giya' has been the longest on stage of the "Tommiya" series. This production has been staged in many parts of the country including Kandy, Kurunegala, Negombo, Nuwara Eliya and of course, in Colombo.

Compared to other major cities of the world, Colombo is quite starved of entertainment. Yet in spite of the growing interest in English, very few would flock to see Pinter, Shakespeare or Chekov.

The problem seems to be that "Bold and the Beautiful" has taken over. Productions like "Run for Your Wife" or "Well Mudliyar" can make people turn off their TVs and trudge to the Wendt, that perennial shrine of the English theatre. Indu's play "Madai Tomiya Colamba Giya" held at the Wendt, is perhaps the exemplar of the correct formula for presenting theatrical experiences for our local audiences. Let's face it, our audiences like a laugh with a tinge of seriousness in it and more, if they can identify with the situations and characters. Indu's play is locally based and the characters are identifiable as real day-to-day people we meet in ordinary life.

The language used is colloquial and a perfect example of 'singlish', the happy medium that most local playwrights writing in English seek to master. It is a medium which is often encouraged by literary critics of late.

The lead role of Tommy was played by Indu whose natural flair, sophistication and ease on stage proves beyond doubt that he is a very good actor and of course a good playwright too.

Ralahamy was portrayed by Jith Pieris who is often seen producing and directing many a show. His return to acting was indeed welcome, he had some of the funniest lines and got a lot of laughs. Ralahamy's convincing portrayal, is peculiar to Jith alone. It is not easy to get a consistent response from the audience when one does a comic role. Jith managed that with his usual aplomb. He interwove little gestures and characteristics (he even wore red lipstick to show that he was eating betel) and made the character a complete one. Both Indu and Jith virtually brought the house down at certain times.

The other striking performance was that of Lucy so maturely portrayed by Damayanthi Silva. It was a role which could be easily overplayed and her performance deserved special mention. Angela Seneviratne (Caroline) showed her ability as an experienced actress. Michael Holsinger as Andana was consistent through the performance. A role like this is always difficult to play and Michael's long experience clearly demonstrated this. The two ladies from sophisticated Colombo society, 'Ducky' and 'Kusum' portrayed by Krys Sosa and Priyanka Holsinger were exceptional.

Indu must be complimented for bringing new young talent to the English stage, namely Sanju Selvarajah and Keshani Gunawardene who played their roles with a degree of competence, the latter showing that she had immense potential for the future.

'Madai Tommiya Colamba Giya' was hugely enjoyable, eminently watchable and certainly a better way to spend an evening than gazing at a television set.
Irene Senewiratne.

Back to Plus