Arts
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known plays of the great Master Sarachchandra produced plays which have not only given delight to audiences at home and abroad, but have also been profound and lasting contributions to the repertoire of Sri Lankan theatre. Not the least of these works are a series of playlets Sarachchandra produced shortly after his epoch-making plays, 'Maname' and 'Sinhabahu'. These charming pieces have entertained, enlightened and edified theatre-goers over the last 50 years, running to packed houses in the cities and villages. Of these playlets, 'Rattaran' (Gold) is one of the earliest. It is a two act play based on a Sinhala folktale which deals with the perennial theme of the relationship of Man to Money, of gold in the affairs of human beings. In this play, the daughter-in-law, contrives with her husband to have done with the mother-in-law by cremating her alive, but the old woman, through some stroke of fortune, escapes and finds herself in a jungle cave. She is fortunate again to find stores of gold left there by the robbers who hide in the place by day and go out on their robbery escapades by night. She frightens away the robbers on their return by pretending to be a demon. Now left with all the gold, she decides to use it to take revenge on her daughter-in-law. Returning to her son's house with cartloads of gold, she tells the daughter-in-law that she acquired all her new wealth in 'the other world' to which they have sent her and persuades her to go there herself. The daughter-in-law falls for the ruse and the play ends grotesquely, with self-sought cremation of the younger woman. ‘Kada valalu’ (The Bangles) provides a charming contrast to the grotesque mood of Rattaran. It is a lyric of the Sinhala theatre, telling the tale of a little orphan girl who lives with her aged grandmother on the banks of the Ganges whose floods have robbed them of all else in the world. One day a hawker of bangles, passing by this hut entices the little girl to ask her grandmother to buy her his bangles. The grandmother has no money to give the man but they discover an old metal plate used by the grandfather when he was living and had better times. The hawker, however, pretends it is of no worth and goes away, hoping to come back and get it for a cheap price. But before his return another trader comes on the scene. Being an honest man, he says the plate is of gold for which he has not sufficient bangles to give. He therefore gives her the whole basket of bangles and his bag of money, and departs with the golden plate. Before he has gone far the dishonest trader returns, and swearing vengeance on his rival, pursues him to the ends of the earth and time. Sarachchandra makes of this little legend a fascinating and insightful study of a child mind, entrapped in but innocent of the realities of an adult world. 'Elova Gihin Melova Ava (Back from the other world)' is another of the Sarachchandra playlets which belong to the folk-tale genre. A beggar arrives at the door of the village chief's house and pleads for charity from the lady of the house. He tells her that he has just returned from 'the other world,' an idiomatic expression which implies he has recovered from serious illness. But the woman takes his words literally and requests news of her daughter who has recently died and 'gone to the other world.' The crafty man, capitalizing on the woman's innocence, offers to take all the daughter's worldly goods back to her. The loving mother packs the daughter's belongings and the beggar gets away with them. When the village chief returns and learns of what has taken place, he gives chase but he is outwitted by the beggar who is able finally to runaway with the chief's horse. Once again Sarachchandra, with remarkable artistic ingenuity, transforms this simple folk tale into a fine piece of theatrical entertainment. In this repertoire is also included one of Sarachchandra's earliest plays 'Magul Prasthava', an adaptation of Chekov's 'The Proposal' which couples farcical form with thematic seriousness. Apart from providing excellent theater fare, the playlets of Sarachchandra provide a glimpse into the work of Sri Lanka's leading playwright. Remarkable
performance of a contrived Gothic thriller My first thought as the nearly one and a half hour performance got underway was that in a dramatic monologue, where the acting is minimal and the locution, or speaking style, everything, you have to have an expert command of the language. Being unacquainted with the original story by Maupassant, I am not aware of the extent to which the text had to be adapted for performance, but the diction and phraseology were excellent. Amerasinghe's mastery of voice projection, articulation, modulation, gesture and facial expression and, above all, the admirable gusto with which he threw himself into the persona of the narrator, enabled him to sustain audience interest and anticipation throughout. This achievement was all the more remarkable in that the material itself was unremarkable. The Maupassant story is essentially a Gothic-style thriller, its psychology rather dated and its artistic effects contrivedly theatrical rather than genuinely dramatic. The experience itself was far removed from the stuff of real life. If the Hopkins lines - "What hours, O what black hours we have spent This night! what sights you, heart, saw: ways you went!" - came to mind, it was only to point up the extent to which Maupassant's melodramatic account of his hero's torments fell short of the real tragedy of torments occasioned not by special effects but by the "bitter complexities" of the human condition. So, it was a case of lacklustre material redeemed by an effulgent performance. And if this served to heighten our appreciation of Amerasinghe's skills, it also underlined the extent to which these skills were prevented from demonstrating their full potential and providing greater audience satisfaction. In Mark Amerasinghe the Alliance Francaise is blessed with the facility of bringing French literature etc entertainingly to the attention of local audiences through his distinctive brand of dramatic monologue. But worthier material must be put at his service. I recall having read better Maupassant stories than "Le Horla", but, more importantly, there are worthier authors to be featured than Maupassant or, for that matter, Gide who was a previous beneficiary. I understand that L'Etranger was done some time ago, and this is the kind of thought provoking, value- adding material that should be selected. Consider for instance, the valuable experience of Mauriac’s Therese. And what, to stray somewhat from the Arts proper, about a presentation of some of the Pensees of Pacal? These could surely be effectively and stimulatingly presented. And better still, why not further collaborative efforts with Valentine Basnayake to highlight the imaginative experience of composers like Debussy, who revolutionized musical language, and Berlioz, whose Symphonie Fantastique is full of autobiographical interest. Yes, one looks forward to richer imaginative experiences courtesy Mark Amerasinghe and Alliance in future. -Priya David Christmas
joy from Gayathrie Gayathrie lives in Britain. She started her vocal training with Mary Anne David and in 1991 went to the Royal Academy of Music in London where she graduated with a Royal Academy Bachelor of Music Diploma. She furthered her operatic training at the Mayer Lismann Opera Centre, London. Gayathrie has won many awards for her singing including the prestigious "International Young Singer of the Year" title at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. Besides her many awards she has won first prize for Opera, Recital and Lieder in 32 competitions affiliated to the British Federation of Music. Gayathrie's range includes a wide repertoire of popular music. She has sung lead roles in "Annie", "Oklahoma", "Hello Dolly", "West Side Story", "South Pacific", "Oliver", "The Sound of Music", and "My Fair Lady". In 1999 she made her debut as soloist in the Variety Show "Sunday Night at the Palladium". She has just returned from Australia after participating in a number of fund raising concerts for the Tsunami Appeal. Gayathrie
will be accompanied on piano and keyboard by her husband, William
Patrick. William, born in Scotland, has had considerable experience
as an accompanist. He was hailed by Lord Harwood, a doyen of the
opera establishment, as one of the finest accompanists he has ever
heard. Seasonal
SOSL celebrations of carols, soul sounds and concertos Top of the bill at The Family Christmas Concert are carols for the audience to sing along with the combined choirs - Soul Sounds and The Peterite Chorale, fifty-five young voices in all. Soul Sounds directed by Soundarie David won international standing and reputation when they won first runner-up in the Youth Choir Category last summer at the International Eistedfodd Festival of Song and Dance (2004) at Llangollen in Wales. They were competing in the final with choirs from a dozen or so countries, including UK and USA. The Family Christmas Concert will also feature Weber's delightful Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra in which Ananda Premasiri who is Co-Principal Clarinet of SOSL will re-appear as soloist. Rashmi DaPaepe will perform operatic arias by Bellini and Puccini (Musetta's Waltz from La Boheme) and the perennial favourite Adam's "O Holy Night". Rashmi has a Master's Degree in vocal performance from the University of Missouri, Kansas City Conservatory. Her stage roles include Belinda in Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas", and Susanna in Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro". A concluding item at the Family Concert will be Irving Berlin's ever-popular "White Christmas". At both concerts, the combined choirs and orchestra will perform excerpts from Handel's Messiah - “Glory to God” and “For unto us a Child is born” - Torme’s “The Christmas Song”, and Berlioz's Shepherds “Farewell”. The Symphony Christmas Concert will feature two major orchestral works, Brahms' Haydn Variations and Schumann's Piano Concerto in A. The famous theme of the Variations is known as the St. Anthony Chorale. It was Brahm’s first major work for orchestra alone, written however when he was 40 years old and in full maturity. Schumann's Piano Concerto in A, a poetic and virtuoso work, was first performed by his wife Clara at Leipzig in 1846. Saturday's soloist, Tanya Ekanayaka, was a joint winner of the SOSL Concerto Competition (Pianoforte) at 16, and later performed Mozart's Piano Concerto K. 488 with the Orchestra. She now has a professional Performer's Diploma of the Guildhall School of Music, London. The Symphony Christmas Concert on Saturday 10th is sponsored by Link Natural Products in aid of The Sunera Foundation. The Family Christmas Concert on Sunday 11th is co-sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank and by Industrial and Commercial Insurance Brokers. The concerts are at Ladies' College Hall and tickets are available from Titus Stores, Liberty Plaza or the SOSL Office, Tel: 2682033 One
artist’s changing moods, styles, colours and emotions Though born in Demataluwa, close to Kurunegala, and having had his primary education at Mahananneriya, also in the vicinity, Walter moved to Ahanagama in the South, according to him, an unusual step. Describing that traumatic day last December, Walter explained how he and his wife were swept inland about two km and narrowly escaped death as they were washed off to higher ground. “I lost everything I owned right down to the clothes I was wearing, and I had to stay at a refugee camp in Meegahagoda, for about 20 days,” he said, recalling his experiences. His private gallery too was completely destroyed, causing a huge amount of economic damage. “Though we didn’t really receive much support from any government authority, many people helped me to rebuild my life. Especially the Tsunami Victim Rehabilitation Trust,” he said, adding that he will be using these donations to help others. “An artist is someone who has a huge amount of emotions and sensitivity within himself. So it is sad to see artists trying to bring each other down. My main aim with this exhibition is to promote this idea of sharing and supporting each other in times of need.” This being his fourth exhibition, viewers will notice different styles in his paintings and will feel that they are viewing the work of several artists when walking through the exhibition. Changing his technique according to his mood, Walter doesn’t restrict himself to one particular style. |
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