‘Nobody's Faces’ is everybody's effort

In a country where divisions have become key words, a team of senior dramatists have launched a commendable effort to form a drama group with individuals of different ethnic groups, ages, genders and socio-economic backgrounds.

The result of three workshops conducted in Nuwara Eliya, Tangalle and Kotagala by the group sponsored by FLICT Organisation.
'Bahu Roo'- 'Nobody's Faces' a bilingual stage play will be staged in four locations Mahavilachchiya in Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Gampaha and Tangalla. Two of these are remote villages where stage plays are seldom performed.

'All the shows will start at 7.00 pm when it is dark. This is because we want to stage them using the real dramatic effect with lights and setting'.

The group is a mixture of twenties, thirties and fifties and young and old from unemployed to employed, school leavers to graduates, fishermen in the down south and tea pluckers in the up country have come together to form this potpourri group.

'Bahu Roo' is a mixture of actors from the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim ethnic groups coming from different areas of the country to perform impressively. They work as a team today after practise for several months. They are also different in their age, education and professions. This is the result of Performing Arts which has brought them to one platform to work for a single objective forgetting all their differences" says M. Safeer of twenty years experience as a dramatist and a pioneer of this project.

'The play is the result of workshops which were conducted at Kotagala, Nuwara-Eliya and Tangalle to use Performing Arts for building solidarity. What we have done was only to allow them to unfold their creativity in a free environment. Even we were amazed by their brilliant talents which were lying dormant all these years hidden' said Safeer who earlier produced 'Karunawen Sawandenna' and 'Api Gena Hithanna'.

Most of these performers have not been given any opportunity to take part in a minor role of even a dance or a song during their schooling. Few of them who have followed dancing and music as academic subjects now perform effectively. The beauty of this team is that they effectively create their own settings, visual effects and the music to blend with the story.

Nobody's Faces does not have a traditional script. The play is impromptu and is based on their experiences and their response. The conflict situations which they bring to the stage would not be new to you, but those are some realistic issues that are very much alive today.

Joining M. Safeer are actors Udeni Alwis, Hemantha Prasad and administration is by Deepal Warnakulasuriya. Sponsored by FLICT Organisation the project is presented by Inter Act Art. 'Nobody's Faces' will soon be staged in Colombo and suburbs.

Bahu Roo (Nobody's Faces - Mugamudi) is about you and I. We conceal ourselves behind a mask to avoid self revelation. We do so to maintain the image of ourselves with our environment. What we do wearing a mask we cannot do without it. We invite you to see the masked faces, their comic and abstract behaviors and also to experience the real faces behind the masks.

We, the audience are free to judge the gravity of the day-to-day conflicts and the efforts taken by people to lapse into deviant behaviour wearing masks at least for awhile. We witness their efforts to flee from these conflict situations. You are not asked about your response. But, if you could begin to think about these social groups constructively our exercise will be successful.Bahut Roo (Nobody's Faces - Mugamudi) will show you the difference between illusion and reality.

January 19- 7.00 pm Ethdathkalla Raula Vidyalaya, Mahavilachchiya in Anuradhapura,
January 20 - 7.00 pm Mallavapiytiyia Nigrodharama Temple in Kurunegla
January 22 - 7.00 pm Kirindiwala Pradeshiya Sabha in Gampaha
January 23 - 7.00 pm Meeghahena Vidyalaya in Tangalla.

Chandanie Malkanthi (Kandapola), Sugath Priyantha Edirisinghe (Ambalantota) Lasantha Srimal Abewickreme (Hakmana), Sangeetha Palliyaguruge (Kotagala), Shammugalingam Rengasami (Kotagala), A. G. Noorjahan (Kotagala), Nesra Ramiah (Nuwara-Eliya), Anandaraj Palaniappan (Pundalu Oya), Manimegala Rasaratnam ( Kotagala), Nadeeka Wijenayake (Katuwana), Niluka Prasadanie (Beliatta), Sumudu Wasan (Ahangama), Wasanthan Raghupathy (Nuwara-Eliya), Chandana Wijesinghe (Hakmana), Manoj Suranga Jayasekara (Hungama), Suranga Lakmal Kumara (Hungama), Subhashinie Wadivel (Kandapola), Sanjeewakanthan Marimuththu (Kandapola), Anthoniraj Albert (Kotagala), Pryantha Warnakulasuriya (Ranna), Ranjith Rajapakse (Walasmulla), Krishnakumar Weeran (Kotagala), Shanika Sanjeewanie (Kotagala), Wijesinghe Karunadasa (Nakulugamuwa), Shanmugam Nithyakala (Kandapola), A. Thilibanraj (Kandapola) and V. Kogilavani (Kandapola).

Conducting: M. Safeer, Udeni Alwis, Hemantha Prasad
Administration: Deepal Warnakulasuriya.
Coordination: Sandun L. Camage
Photography: Udeni Alwis
Lighting: Wasantha Kumara
Publicity: - Sandakada Ads
Stage Management: - Charaka Madurajeewa
Costumes: Hemantha Jayalath
Make up: - Premjayantha Kapuge
Management Assistance: R. Sashikumar
M. Safeer; the man behind the faces

A publisher by profession, M. Safeer is a unique personality in the Sri Lankan drama scene. He was the only non-Sinhalese who won awards at the State Drama Festival. Safeer won Best Set Designer in the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 consecutively. He has written a book Wedika Kalamanakarana Athpotha (A handbook to Stage Management) which is used as an important text book by the students of Theatre and Drama.

‘As a Muslim I believe that I have a responsibility to bring together the other two communities in the conflict. This is not a propaganda campaign for peace. But it is working together successfully with the different communities understanding one another. It can be done and we have done it," Safeer said.

‘We don't have plans to include our drama for a competition. In a country where there are festivals for Sinhala and Tamil dramas separately I don't know where a bilingual drama like ours stands," he questioned. "But we request that our drama be staged at least outside the competitive section in the next festival’ he said.