Playing with language

Caryl Churchill’s play ‘Far Away’ that goes on the boards at the Punchi Theatre, Borella on February 6 and 7 is billed as one that will leave you asking yourself all manner of questions.

Presented by the British Council and directed by William Scott Richards, ‘Far Away’ stars experienced actors, Anushka Pereira, Neluka Silva and Delon Weerasinghe and also introduces talented young actress Razia Esufally to the Colombo stage.

A play that uses language and a keen insight into the strength of human connections to get its point across, Far Away’s dialogue almost borders on the absurd - there are lines like “the cats have come in on the side of the French” but you only need to look beneath to see the real beauty of Churchill’s work. The playwright’s other credits include “Blue Heart”, “Cloud Nine” and “Top Girls”.

‘Far Away’ is set against the backdrop of a reality somehow different to our world but distressingly, not so different that we cannot recognise it - a fantastic extrapolation of today’s reality where war and terrorism are very much the norm. In “Far Away” we see that every single element in the world has been recruited into a war and so we begin to see birds, hairspray and even gravity as a possible threat. And what is this war that everyone’s fighting over? That is something that is never directly answered by the play and it isn’t information the audience actually needs either. It could be a war to save the humans from animals, or children under five from their alliance with the chefs and the engineers. It could also just be a war - for war’s sake.

The element that comes out strongest in the play, is that of human connections – between the three main characters – Harper (Neluka Silva), Joan (Razia Esufally and Anushka Pereira) and Todd (Delon Weerasinghe).

Caught up in an extended war and faced with uncertainty at every turn, the characters are forced to find their individual purpose and to create their own form of refuge within the unpredictable world that surrounds them. Tickets priced at Rs.250 and Rs. 100 (balcony) are on sale at the British Council and at the Punchi Theatre.