Stagefright&Panic
to reign again
The theatre loving public of Sri Lanka would remember with trepidation
the ferocious antics of the members of Stagefright&Panic Inc.,
who, despite repeated appeals by the authorities carried out a vicious
and completely unprovoked attack on the Complete works of William
Shakespeare, several years ago. This alleged theatre group have
resurfaced after spending voluntary time in an 'institution' and
are planning a performance of Nobel Laureate Dario Fo's play "Elizabeth:
Almost by chance a Woman".
The
play follows the (mis) fortunes of the English monarch Elizabeth
I. She is a despotic queen at the end of her reign and is constantly
plagued by bad luck. The cast wishes to assure everyone that there
is absolutely no subversive satire in this play that could in any
way be construed as being critical of Sri Lanka and/or the U.S.A.
Joining
the original Stagefright&Panic team of Feroze, Ifaz & Anuruddha
are Michael Holsinger, Kisholi de Mel, Ryan Holsinger and Muckshoodh
Meerasaibu. All these aspiring thespians have been perspiring for
several months and have proudly announced that they have at last
succeeded in locating the script of the play. For those of you who
saw the 'Compleat Wrks of Shkspr' you will by now probably know
better than to expect any kind of serious theatre from these guys.
In
order to satisfy their fan club (of nine members) Stagefright&Panic
have released the character and cast list, which reads as follows:
The role of Queen Elizabeth, despotic monarch of England will be
played by Anuruddha Fernando. The mercurial Ifaz Bin Jameel returns
to the stage after his period of hibernation as the Queen's long
suffering Police Chief with great ambitions, Martha, Elizabeth's
long-suffering maidservant cum confidante will be played by Kisholi
de Mel. Michael Holsinger plays the role of Mama Zaza, the Queen's
transvestite make-up artist, Ryan Holsinger, makes a 'brief' appearance
as Elizabeth's young lover and Muckshoodh Meerasaibu plays the Assassinating
Priest.
The
play is directed by Feroze Kamardeen and Ifaz Bin Jameel and produced
by Sirraj Abdul Hameed and Leyon Rajaratne for StageLight&Magic
Inc.. This play will no doubt go down in the annals (or was it anals)
of English theatre in Sri Lanka. In addition to squeezing Anuruddha
into a dress 3 sizes too small for him, Michael plans to introduce
specially trained breast-biting bees into the Wendt. Complete with
a wooden horse which has a slight bladder problem and a police chief
who loves a bit of brutality, Elizabeth: Almost by chance a Woman
explores the world of the despot. The beauty of the play is that
it does not criticize despots, in fact it is a play highlighting
the many problems that depots have and portrays despots as really
lovely people who have so much on their hands (and in their pockets).
The
play is scheduled to go on the boards of the Lionel Wendt Theatre
from June 24 to June 26. Due to the use of explicit language (which
forms the major part of these guys' vocabulary) suggestive references
and sexual innuendo (which they plan to pass off for high-brow theatre),
the play will be restricted to those over 18 years. Anyone under
this age would require to be accompanied by a parent or an adult
guardian.
Elizabeth:
Almost by chance a Woman is sponsored by Alankara, the World of
Diamonds. Alankara have signed an exclusive three-year sponsorship
deal with StageLight&Magic Inc., to be an official sponsor of
all StageLight&Magic Inc., theatre productions.
The
Sunday Times which has been involved with every single theatre effort
of StageLight-&Magic Inc., is the official Sunday newspaper
of the production and The Daily Mirror is the official daily newspaper.
YES FM is the official Electronic Media Sponsor. Sonali White of
the Haddai Label will provide the costumes for the production. The
hair and make up will be by Rumours Salon.
Elizabeth:
Almost by chance a Woman, will be at the Lionel Wendt on June 24,
25 and 26. Box plan and tickets will be at the Wendt two days after
they have been collected from the printers.
Designing
the Japanese way
The Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation’s exhibition
of contemporary Japanese architecture is now on. It exhibits designs
by renowned Japanese architects covering ten years between 1985
and 1996.
The
exhibition is now on in Kandy in collaboration with the Kandy Municipal
Public Library, at the E.L. Senanayake Children's Library Hall,
till May 9.
The exhibition will be held in Colombo, in collaboration with the
Public Library of Colombo from May 13 to 16 at the main auditorium
of the Public Library.
Another
look at the unknown artiste
Fareed Uduman (1917-1985) was a truly creative and inspired unknown
artist, who for his own impelling reasons and without encouragement
from the public or an artistic brotherhood, over his lifetime made
dozens of highly original paintings.
All
of them were undated and unsigned. He painted on cardboard, hardboard,
plywood or on any other material he could lay his hands on. He nailed
these to the wall and painted beautiful pictures that nobody understood.
Most of them ended up behind cupboards and doors cobwebbed, dusty
and forgotten: pieces of his life, heart and soul; the unquenchable
fire that raged within.
An
engima to most of his family and friends, he remained a zealous
non-conformist right up to the end. Although born a Muslim he called
himself a humanist, an atheist, a communist and a rationalist. Although
most of his early works have perished the family have managed to
retrieve around 35 paintings. A posthumous exhibition of his works
"Odd Man Out" was held at Gallery 706 in 1993, which amazed
viewers. None of the paintings were for sale. Ellen Dissanayake
reviewed the exhibition and her greatest tribute was comparing him
to Justin Deraniyagala.
One
of his sons, Jomo Uduman has now published a book that presents
his works in brilliant colour. The book also includes his Cartoons
published by "The Nation" (an LSSP weekly) which displays
his remarkable awareness of local and world politics and his (obvious)
communistic learnings. Also included are some remarkable unpublished
Poems.
Fareed
Uduman, Paintings, Poems and Cartoons will be launched at the Dienge
Gallery (54, Kitulwatte Road, Elvitigala Mawatha, Colombo 8) on
Saturday 14 and Sunday 15. An exhibition of selected paintings,
poems and catroons will also be on display.
Putting
Lanka in step with changing movements
Dancer and choreographer Kapila Palihawadana, back from
Germany after seven months training in Modern Dance with well known
dance companies of Germany hopes to introduce new ideas and techniques
to young people in Sri Lanka. His workshop on modern dance will
start today, Sunday, May 8 at the Goethe Institute Colombo, 37 Gregory's
Road, Colombo 7. Enrolments will be on May 8, (today) and May 16,
from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Goethe Institute. Here
Kapila speaks of dance and his own passion for something new.
How
did you start your dancing career?
When I was in school I studied Kandyan dance and I was
the only guy really interested in it. After that I went to Channa
Upuli Performing Arts School to learn body language in dance. After
working as a member of the ensemble and being one of the senior
instructors for some time, I suddenly stopped dancing because I
was a bit bored doing routine work.
It
was at this time that I joined the University of Kelaniya to study
Russian and German at the Department of Modern Languages. After
graduation, I joined Oosha Saravanamutthu at her school Oosha Garten
of Ballet, where I had exposure to Classical Ballet. I was the principal
dancer at the "Joie de la dance" in 2003. I am still working
with Oosha because I believe I need a good training environment.
How
do you feel being a choreographer?
I believe that one cannot be a good choreographer without
being a good dancer. When a choreographer stops dancing because
he is a teacher, his creativity becomes limited. Being a dancer
over the years has helped me in choreography. To choreograph, you
need good dancers who understand the dance language. This is why
I am interested in developing the contemporary Sri Lankan dance
language.
How
did you get a scholarship to Germany?
I was invited to do a "performance type of choreography"
for a stage play directed by Dr. Asoka de Zoysa, a German classic
called "Woyzeck". There was a chorus on stage, which articulated
through movement.
Is
body movement to music not ballet?
No, ballet is varied today and it is essentially governed
by a wide repertoire of steps, jumps or turns, which have their
classical origin in France. What I have been concentrating on since
"Woyzeck" is called "Modern Dance". The dancer
should not express himself through the music but he has to listen
to his body and mind and move according to that. In ballet the dancer
is trying to tell a story to movements created by the ballet master
or the choreographer. There is very little freedom for individual
expression in classical ballet for the dancer.
In
modern dance the dancer has complete freedom of body movement. One
is not restricted by the music and the music need not always convey
the same mood and sentiment expressed by the dancer, which is generally
the case in ballet. Very often when working out a piece, one has
no music or beat at the start. We feel that without using music,
we are able to dance more expressively.
After
"Woyzeck" I was invited to work in the Theertha Artists'
Camp in Lunuganga in 2003. There I did a performance called "Symbolic
Man" with a mosquito net. This was seen by lots of people.
The director of the Goethe Institute Mr. Broenner also saw this
and he liked it. It was after this that I was offered the scholarship
to Germany to explore the many fields of Modern Dance.
What
is the difference between modern dance in Germany and ballet Sri
Lanka.
Over here everybody is trying to do the same thing without
trying something new. But in Europe things are always changing.
Dancers are individualistic and think in diverse ways. One of the
most contrasting features is that over there they don't give importance
to the physical beauty of a dancer. But in Sri Lanka, most of the
time it is only beautiful people who get the opportunity to dance.
Dancers have to conform to a "standard body" and most
of the time there is very little personality behind the body.
Dancers
are crammed into a framework of dancing "beautifully"
and this is based on stereotyped movements.
Tell
us about your dance troupe nATANDA
I started it about two years ago in a small way, with
the main aim of doing something new.
What
are your plans?
I want to start off with a workshop at the Goethe Institute
and at the end of it I will select some dancers for my forthcoming
production in November. I would like young people who are interested
in modern dance and theatre dance to join in. You don't have to
be a dancer or have that perfect body, as I mentioned earlier. I
also hope to work with some German dancers who will be coming here.
Sri
Lanka has a rich tradition in what one may call "performance".
We do not have to ape the West and copy western movements. Our healing
rituals have a variety of body movements and our drums are an excellent
source of inspiration. Our young people are talented and I believe
through practice and training their creative energy can be liberated
and we could create a form of expression with a pronounced Sri Lankan
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