Memorable
day for Iranganie: Fitting tribute to Sera
![](../images/fragrance.jpg)
Iranganie as Nastya in Jubal’s
production of Gorky’s ‘The Lower Depths’
50 years ago |
December
12,2003 was a memorable day for Iranganie Serasinghe. She was playing
the role of Minister of Information in the final show of Ernest
MacIntyre's ‘The UN Inspector is a Sri Lankan', brought all
the way from Sydney to participate in the 50th anniversary celebrations
of the Lionel Wendt Theatre. Exactly fifty years earlier, on December
12, 1953, she had played Nastya in Neuman Jubal's 'The Lower Depths'
by Maxim Gorky on the opening night of the Wendt's first show. To
be still active on stage after fifty years is a proud record indeed!
It
was quite by chance that Iranganie had been chosen to act in Macintyre's
play. As the souvenir puts it, she "graciously came to our
help because Carmel Raffel could not come to Colombo." A profile
note records "the grateful thanks of thousands and thousands
of theatregoers and television viewers over generations for the
wisdom through entertainment that this actor has spread across this
country." It adds: "In this 'temple', through the performances
of some of the world's most enriching dramatic literature, she grew
her own talent and built on her early training at the Royal Academy
of Dramatic Art, London. After many years she went out, to broadcast
her inheritance and her creative wealth into every cinema in the
land and into every home with the small screen."
With
English theatre being not as active as it was during the MacIntyre
days, now we meet Iranganie regularly through Sinhala films and
teledramas and in each one of these, she stands out among the rest.
In 'Sakman Maluwa', which is running now, she gives another of her
convincing portrayals and soon we will see her in 'Wekande Walauwe'
in yet another cameo performance.
In
'Lower Depths', while Iranganie played Nastya, Winston Serasinghe
played the lead role of Louka. MacIntyre's 'UN Inspector' opened
on 9 December, which happened to be Winston's birthday and the opening
night was dedicated to him. The gesture by the board of trustees
of the Lionel Wendt Theatre was a fine tribute to a great actor.
"The public and even theatre people are not generally conscious
that in countries like Sri Lanka which do not have a body of professional
theatre companies, the word 'amateur', to describe everything that
goes on is casually inaccurate. Winston Serasinghe belonged to a
tradition of acting which can best be described as practised by
the high priests of a part-time theatre. He was just that in the
original sense that Stanislavski found during his researches, that
great actors seemed to reach the inner lives of characters without
specific actor training", a note on 'Sera' states.
It
also recaps some of Sera's portrayals: The comic fatalist Gogol
in Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot', the Moor of great heart
but not of wisdom in Shakespeare's 'Othello', Azdak the rogue judge
delivering social justice in Brecht's 'The Caucasian Chalk Circle',
Willy Loman a tragic victim of allowing an individual personality
to be capitalized by Capitalism in Miller's 'Death of a Salesman'.
Sydney
Kolam Maduwa
The two plays MacIntyre brought to Colombo - The UN Inspector' and
'He still comes from Jaffna' introduced us to the Sri Lankan theatregroup
'The Sydney Kolam Maduwa', also known as Sydney Comedy Shack. "Cast
in the shadow of the ancient village theatre we perform in the middle
of our audience and welcome their participation", says its
secretary Sunil de Silva, one time Attorney General and keen dramatist.
He
describes the livewire of the Kolam Maduwa, Ernest MacIntyre as
a prolific and enthusiastic dramatist to whose mill, the trials,
tribulation, joys and achievements of the expatriate Sri Lankan
community has always been grist. "He gathered together a band
of enthusiasts headed by his brother Gandhi to portray his words
in dramatic form." Talking of Gandhi, he was a treat in the
'UN Inspector' playing the key role.
It
was nice meeting old Peradeniya friends - MacIntyre and Sheila Gunawardena
(Anghie then) for a chat. After many decades, they hadn't changed
much and could easily be recognised. And to know that they are very
much involved with theatre still was heartening news.
Where
was Pandit Amaradeva?
Who bungled the arrangements for the release of the stamp in honour
of Pandit Amaradeva? The Philatelic Bureau announced that the ceremony
would be held at the BMICH on December 5. Those who turned up to
witness the event were told that it would form part of the celebrations
organised by the Tower Hall Foundation to mark 'Kala Dinaya' - a
day devoted to facilitate artistes. And we waited for the 'hero'
in whose name the stamp was being issued. He never turned up. Was
there a formal invitation to him or did the organisers just expect
him to turn up for the ceremony?
It
was a pity that a separate launch was not planned for such a significant
event. After all, it was only the second time that a stamp was being
released to honour a living Sri Lankan artiste. Lester James Peries
was the first. The BMICH cinema hall was full when that stamp was
released. Sarasaviya,the Lake House weekly journal devoted to the
arts organised a fitting ceremony that day.
A D.Litt for the second time
Lester James Peries has done it again! This time it's
bagging a D.Litt from the Colombo University. In 1985, an honorary
D.Litt was conferred on him by the Peradeniya University. Many are
the titles won by him in recent years (these include the Lifetime
Achievement Award from the Government of India) quite apart from
the many awards his films have won over the years. |