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Arts

A meeting, 8 women and their stories
By Smriti Daniel
The café is closed for the day. The lights have been dimmed and the courtyard is shadowed, only Fefu and her friends remain. The women, nine in all, relax as they sit scattered on the stairs. They all watch as Fefu and Julia struggle through a conversation, the air around them teeming with emotion, so thick that you could slice it with a knife. Fefu suddenly pauses and with a wicked smile says, “I want to throw something at her,” and they all burst into laughter. Women among women – there’s nothing quite like it.

The experimental Mind Adventures Theatre Company is presenting “Fefu and Her Friends”. One of Marie Irene Fornes’ best loved works, the play was written in 1977 but is set in the England of the 1930s. In this play (which won Fornes one of her 6 Ohie awards) we follow the stories of eight women. Having come together under the aegis of organizing a charity benefit, each of them brings to the stage a complex and realistic presence.

“Each has a story…Each character has issues to bring out,” says Tracy Holsinger, Director of the play. She goes on to explain that while the play is not overtly dramatic and overflowing with burning issues, the women are nevertheless seen locked in an intense struggle to cope with the experiences and problems that life has presented them.

On the surface the play seems to be about a group of upper-middle-class housewives meeting one afternoon to plan an educational benefit, but as in ordinary life, there is always more to the situation then what is seen at first glance. Leading one to question the truth of appearances, reality in the play fuses with allegory to create two layers – on one level you see the women with their forced and false “happy faces”, facades which have only to be peeled away to reveal something else entirely. To paraphrase Fefu, you have only to lift the stone to discover the slime underneath.

Counted among the stellar cast are Ruwanthie de Chickera as Fefu, Karen Balthazaar as Julia, Piyumi Samaraweera as Cindy, Anushka Pereira as Paula, Ruhanie Perera as Emma, Fazeeha Shohorab as Christina, Lucky Attygalle as Sue and Ameena Hussein as Cecilia.

The relationships among the women are complicated. Most of them know each other very well, leaving others such as Christina to fit in where they can. A woman of a charismatic and strong nature, Fefu plays host to the other women at her New England estate. “Fefu is a complex and volatile character,” says Ruwanthie, “full of highs and lows”.

Her friend, Julia (Karen), is equally disturbed, having developed a hysterical paralysis after seeing a hunter shoot a deer; she had even begun to believe herself to be contagious. Prone to hallucinations and morbid to boot, Julia has given up on life.

While the others appear marginally more balanced, they are all affected to various degrees. Ordinary everyday conversations are punctuated by moments of intense and revealing distress, only to be quickly covered by clever repartee. Even when they are occupied or being entertained the undercurrents of sadness remain.

For an audience, much of the fascination lies in simply observing the chemistry between all these talented actresses as they talk, laugh, cry and shout at each other. Their familiarity and comfort with each other is clearly visible when they take to the stage and the results are mesmerizing.

Tracy believes that part of the appeal of the play lies in how it encompasses many different aspects of womanhood. “It is an examination of women,” Tracy says, adding that in that sense it is feminist. In a time when many associate the very idea of feminism with bra-burning and rabidly anti-men fanatics, the message of the play is one of understanding. “It’s a very tolerant message,” says Tracy, adding that instead of pitting man against woman, “we look at everything that makes women unique”.

It’s obvious that both cast and director feel that the play is more than relevant to society today. “The kind of insight and the depths of the psyche she [Fornes] delves into transcends and straddles all times and cultures,” says Ruwanthie adding that “it is a very honest play, time cannot hold it down”. Fazeeha explains that the message of the play is not cut and dried. Unlike a puzzle that requires only the correct placement of pieces before it presents you with a solution, “you can’t really solve it [the play] but it gives you so much to think about.”

The second act of the play proposes to introduce a rather ambitious ploy – that of the promenade. At this point four scenes will be played simultaneously on four different stages. The audience, broken into four sections, moves from scene to scene – promenading in fact; something which is made possible by the limited number of ticket sales – only 120 a night.

Even though it follows in a long line of other “experiments” carried out by this young theatre company, this is Mind Adventures first attempt at Promenade theatre. Also keeping with tradition, the play is being staged in an “alternate location” – the Barefoot café- which is undoubtedly more conducive to the intimate, intense atmosphere the play demands.

“Fefu and Her Friends” runs from July 27 – 31 at the Barefoot Gallery Café. Tickets priced at Rs.350 are available at the Wendy Whatmore Academy (No.5, 13th Lane, Colombo 3). Visit Mind Adventures at fefu.blogsome.com for pictures, bios and production updates.

Come to the Kala Pola today
Once again, the works of Sri Lanka's diverse canvas of talented artists and sculptors will be on display when the Kala Pola comes alive today (Sunday July 17) at a new and exciting venue: the Slave Island Railway Station from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Organized by The George Keyt Foundation, Kala Pola has been supported by the John Keells Group for 12 consecutive years. The highlight of this year's Kala Pola will be its change of venue - from the sidewalks of Green Path to the platforms of the Slave Island Railway Station.

Young Cellist at SOSL concert
The 48th season of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka will open with its popular “Young Soloists’ Concert” on Saturday July 23. Eriko Perera, soprano, will sing arias and songs by Haydn, Puccini, Johann Strauss and Richard Rodgers. Anusha Alles will be the soloist in Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto in G minor and Namali Fernando will be the soloist in Schumann’s Cello Concerto.
Namali, now 22, has been playing the cello since she was 7. She was admitted as a member of the Symphony Orchestra aged 13 and is a founder member and principal cellist of the National Youth Orchestra. Namali holds a diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication and is a creative writer. She contributed one of her poems to this year’s Vesak Lipi magazine.

Schumann described his work as a “Concert Piece for cello with orchestral accompaniment”. The emphasis throughout is on the lyrical and eloquent nature of the solo instrument, whilst the orchestral music is notable for its freshness and vitality. Schumann completed the concerto in 1850, the same year as his ‘Rhenish’ Symphony, shortly after becoming the music director of Dusseldorf.

The “Young Soloists’ Concert” conducted by Ajit Abeysekera will commence with Beethoven’s ‘Coriolan’ Overture. HSBC is the sponsor. It will commence at 7pm at Ladies’ College Hall. Tickets are available from Titus Stores, Liberty Plaza and from the SOSL office.

The spirit of India on canvas
An Exhibition of Indian Art: Tradition and Modernism by Ramakrishna and Klaus Duffy will be held from July 19 to 31 at 6/3, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 07 (9 a.m to 9 p.m.)

Ganesh Arts which is presenting this exhibition is a group of artists from India and abroad, established within the Bharatha Shakti Charitable Trust, India.
As the title suggests, the main theme of the exhibition is Indian culture. This is a theme as broad as its culture is old. The artists have used a variety of media to capture this spirit, depicting myriad scenes and images of India.

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