Events

A short adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet sponsored by the British Council will be staged at the Hilton Colombo garden (ballroom entrance) on February 24 and 25 at 6.30 p.m.

Shortened to just one hour, this version of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet arises out of a five-week workshop focusing on developing skills for actors in voice and approaches to classical text.

The ensemble telling of this well known story will use Shakespeare’s text in English and in Sinhala translation. The cast, of mainly young actors, come from both English & Sinhala speaking theatre traditions. The resulting outdoor production will be bold, energetic and hard hitting.

The director, William Scott Richards, has been training actors for over 12 years at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) as well as directing and teaching internationally. He has directed for the BBC, in the West End and Regional Theatres in the UK. As voice and text coach, he has worked for Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, within opera for Royal Opera House & English National Opera; within dance for CandoCo & DV8. Recently, he was director of training for the musical Billy Elliot in London.

Audiences should be prepared to move around during the show and should wear sensible footwear for a garden! Bringing a blanket might be a good idea if you want to sit on the grass. A limited number of chairs can be provided for those less firm of foot.

The Hilton Garden performance will be followed up by performances at outstation schools and British Council Regional English Support Centres.

Tickets at Rs. 300/= (Rs.150/= for students) are on sale at the British Council and the Hilton Colombo’s sports centre reception.
For more information please contact the Arts Unit on 4521538.

Internationally acclaimed cellist Rohan de Saram will present a recital on February 27 at the British Council hall at 7 p.m. The solo cello recital will be in aid of The Sunshine Charity, a family charity which was set up in early 2005 to take care of 25 children affected by the tsunami, the ethnic conflict and poverty in Sambalthivu, Trincomalee.

Rohan de Saram will play selected movements from Bach's Suites for solo cello, Rhapsodic Ballad by the British composer Arnold Bax and Sequenza XIV by Luciano Berio. The work by Berio will be a Sri Lankan premiere of this piece, which incorporates the rhythms of the Kandyan drum onto the cello as a tribute to Rohan by the composer.

This will be followed by Rohan's transcription of Locatelli's "labrinto Armonico" composed originally for violin. The evening's programme will also include two pieces for cello and piano - The Swan by Saint-Saens and Rimsky Korsakov's The Flight of The Bumble Bee.

Rohan will be accompanied on the piano by the well known pianist, Ramya de Livera Perera. The programme will conclude with the finale from Kodaly Sonata for solo cello.

The cello recital is presented in association with The British Council. Tickets are priced at Rs. 1000/- per ticket and are available at The British Council and at The Gallery Café.

To mark the 59th year of Sri Lanka’s Independence, the Asian House in Cuba together with the Sri Lankan Embassy organized several cultural activities on February 2.

The highlight of the occasion was an art exhibition by a Sri Lankan painter Eeshanie Jayawardena. Eeshanie who lives in Cuba is the daughter of Ouida Keuneman, herself a painter.

The event at the Asian House in Havana was attended by Ambassadors of Asian countries in Havana, Cuban Government officials and Sri Lankan Embassy staff and their spouses.

Events

Get ready for Romeo & Juliet!