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The
agonising wait comes alive in Sinhala "It is, for me, a beginning and I feel like this is one of the best plays I've directed even when compared with my productions like Cats, Les Miserables and Royal Hunt of the Sun. The show is dedicated to my friend Richard de Zoysa and his mother Dr. Manorani Saravanamuttu. It's a very special show," says Jerome. Ayeth Enne Né is set to go on the boards on December 11 and 12 at 6.30 p.m. with a matinee performance at 3 p.m. on December 12 at the Elphinstone Theatre. The performance, directed by Jerome who is assisted by Srinath Maddumage, brings together a cast led by Deepani Silva, Nihal Fernando, Roshan Pilapitiya and Kusum Renu. The story of Dorfman's Widows is located in Chile and set during Augusto Pinochet's regime, which saw during the time of what was called the Caravan of Death, the disappearances of those suspected of opposition to the regime. Dorfman was, then in exile but when he returned to his country, obsessed with the ideas of memories and each person's search for truth, he wrote about what took place in his country and in that sense Widows was his take on his country and its people oppressed under totalitarian rule. The pivotal characters in the play are the women of the village, widowed because their men have 'disappeared' and punished for opposing the regime by waiting at the river for the return of their men and then demanding the right to bury the bodies the river brings forth. For Deepani Silva who plays Sophia Fuentes, the oldest of the widows who leads the group in protest, the issues dealt with in the script are those that our country has faced with in recent times. Deepani, who started her acting career with street theatre counts 28 years of experience on the stage. After a long break she's back on stage again, where she believes "living art" takes place and already she feels that she has, within this short period of time, grown as an actress. Speaking on the subject of character development, for Deepani, the internal aspect of the character falls into place because she can connect with the character's situation. Her character's journey is one that is built drawing from insights from the script, her own second hand experiences of such situations and techniques that she brings in from previous acting experiences. Says Deepani: "Personally I have not experienced the same thing, but so many women in our country have sent their men to war; husbands, fathers, brothers gone to join the forces leaving behind women who wait with hope that someday they will return. And if the men don't come back, they hope, they demand proof of that fact. Until then they won't give up." "It's a play that touches on the individual suffering of each woman in the play," says Jerome. "It's a suffering that no one can share. However there is a terrible tension and magnetism that keeps them together as they continue to wait." In his 34 years of directing, this is the first time Jerome is working with professional actors, and he says the experience has been wonderful. "When I walked in for rehearsals I was a bit nervous but my reputation as a strict disciplinarian had preceded me and they were as scared of me as I was of them. Once rehearsals began we were able to work well together.” Both Nihal Fernando who plays the Captain and Roshan Pilapitiya who plays the Lieutenant say Jerome is a director who is in dialogue with his actors giving them sketches of their characters while giving them the space to bring in their own insights. Nihal Fernando who plays a hard ruler works in an element of empathy into his character, aiming at winning the sympathy of his audience despite what the audience witnesses during the course of the play. "He is a man in conflict and to play him straight as just a harsh man would render the character too simplistic and one-sided," says Nihal. Of the overall production, Jerome says, "Thushan Dias with his digital lighting adds to the performance, the costumes which we are keeping simple were designed by Lou Ching Wong and the sets are minimal and functional. The rest is in the play." A joyful spectacle
of a child’s world There are 11-year- olds on stage and there are also 39- year- olds, and here and there one glimpses award winning actresses or actors, playing the role of a doll, perhaps, or a bear. The music that permeates the drama matches the power and the beauty of the choreography. Such professionalism
is seen here that sometimes it is difficult to believe that such
energy and care is being taken to bring a play for children on to
the stage - for such is the case. This is a rehearsal of the children's
play Walas Pawula, an adaptation of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears',
directed by Dr. Chandana Aluthge, due to go on the boards at the
Elphinstone Theatre on December 18, 19 and 20 at 3.30 and 6.30 p.m.. The troupe, with many performances in Sri Lanka as well as abroad, is dedicated to the cause of bringing high quality productions to the field of children's theatre. The script for the Walas Pawula has been written by her. Dr. Chandana Aluthge, one of the earliest members of this troupe who is also a Senior Lecturer in the Economics Department at Colombo University, ventures into directing with Walas Pawula. With 20 years of experience in theatre behind him, and his skill in choreography, lighting, music and dance, he has brought a welcome level of professionalism and expertise to this drama which will be a delight for children of all ages. "This story has something of value for young people of today. The bears, normally considered as dangerous, turn out to be friends, opening up possibilities of friendship existing in unlikely relationships, " says Dr. Aluthge. He says that he has created this based on the psychology of developing the child's physical and mental capacities. Setting free the imagination through curiousity, instilling a love of nature and of animals in them, developing their sense of movement and rhythm through music and dance, giving them a keener use of vision through the use of lights: all this he attempts in this drama. The arresting and innovative music composed by one of the most promising young composers of the day, Tharupathi Munasinghe, the lovingly crafted sets created by Namal Jayasinghe, the costumes designed by Pujitha de Mel and Kaushalya Fernando all aid in making this a memorable production. The adaptation of Goldilocks to the stage has been given much thought, obviously, as seen by the fact that the three bears in the story are performers in a circus in the stage drama, giving ample opportunity for spectacle. The rehearsals have been going on for close to a year, according to the dedicated cast, and looking at the smoothness of the execution of difficult and demanding movements, that is not hard to believe. The production has something for the young, the young at heart and anyone who enjoys seeing the sheer exuberance and joy of theatre. Grand show of
golden oldies, rock n’ roll and dance The show began in dramatic style. At 7.00 p.m. there was a total blackout in the auditorium and what followed was sensational. Simultaneously with the black-out there was a single spot that hit the centre of the closed curtain and with that the curtain opened bringing into view the backdrop and the stage sets. Suddenly the sound of a plane was heard followed by an incredible display of audio visual effects in the form of thunder and lightning accompanied with smoke. The unmistakable voice of Vijaya Corea was heard welcoming the audience and narrating the purpose of the show; raising money to finance scholarships offered by the Gamini Dissanayake Institute to deserving students. The line-up of artistes could not have been better and there was variety from start to finish. Channa's dancers gave the show just the right start in their own inimitable style. Rajiv Sebastian sang two songs which brought back memories of the ever so talented Clarance Wijewardena with Uresha Ravihari singing her heart out with two immortal hits of Lata Mangeshkar which only she could have handled so well. Angeline Goonetilleka brought in a breath of fresh air with her rendition of Sinhala film hits. Her voice was
as immaculate as it was when she first sang those songs. Errol Fernando
took us down memory lane singing hits that will never be forgotten.
'Wild Fire' lived up to their reputation and their handling of rock n' roll made famous by Bill Hailey, Chubby Checker, Gene Vincent, to name just a few, was professional. The dancing provided by Channa, Rajini Selvanayagam, Footwork and El Latino in between gave the programme an excellent balance in variety. Nesan Thiagarajan's performance on different types of drums was a display of rare talent. Annesley Malawana, as usual reached out to the audience with two of Clarence Wijewardena's top hits. Winding up the show in grand style was Sunil Perera with his brother, Piyal giving 4 x 4 Exclusive the grand finale it deserved. His new song ' I don't know' is hilarious and will go down well with any audience.The presenters, Sri Sangabo Corea and Vijaya Corea must indeed be congratulated for putting together a show of this class and magnitude. -Kenneth Perera A place to show
and a place to learn After his five years at Heywood, he launched out with an exhibition with well-known sculptor and painter Tissa Ranasinghe. Since then he has never looked back, winning awards frequently at exhibitions overseas and here. In 1974 his first one man exhibition was opened by Martin Wickramasinghe. From there, he went on to have exhibitions in Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, former Yugoslavia and Australia where he lived for some time, Canada and Norway. The present exhibition is of dual importance for the artist. First he has used his own money and means to establish, in Sri Lanka an art gallery outside Colombo. The Artists’ Gallery is centrally situated near the Open University on Sarasavi Gardens off Vijayaba Mawatha, Nawala. It is part of his house which is big enough to have a large hall to accommodate about 150 paintings of average size. On one side is a studio area where often one sees young beginners allowed to do their own creative work. Sarath is not the kind of guide who imposes his own techniques or ideas on the students. Some of them have got together and put their creative work on show at this gallery. Because of his very moderate charges new comers can afford to exhibit their work here. Sarath is a versatile painter and his themes are wide ranging. At his last exhibition held at the Alliance Francaise at Barnes Place, I remember, he had a large number of drawings, most of them surrealistic. His recent work, which has been on display since December, 5 is more inclined to emphasize colour and design rather than literal statements of social themes. Collection
of myths and legends ‘The
necessity of the myth’, the keynote address will be delivered
by the scholar Siri Thilakasiri. Professor Wimal Disanayake will
speak on 'The moderating of Mythology. |
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