A treat for theatre lovers

By Yamini Sequeira

There is a hushed silence in the Visakha Vidyalaya school hall as a cluster of students file up on stage to take up their appointed positions and strike the right stances. One nod from noted theatre director Indu Dharmasena from the sidelines and they go through their paces. With a cast of 76 students called from various grades and forms in the school, rehearsals for Fiddler on the Roof are seriously underway.

With just a few days before Visakha Vidyalaya's presentation of the famous musical is unveiled at the city's Lionel Wendt Theatre, director Indu Dharmasena is thoroughly immersed in the rehearsals of Fiddler on the Roof scheduled for 5,6,7 June. Having directed students in many plays before Indu Dharmasena seems quite unfazed at handling such a large cast as they rehearse one crucial scene after another. Though the musical is her theatrical interpretation, she seems to have kept it quite close to the original form.

The musical was first performed on Broadway in the 1960s yet songs from it like 'Matchmaker, matchmaker', 'If I were a rich man' and 'Sunrise, Sunset' instantly come to mind. There is formidable singing talent amongst the students who seem quite up to the task of carrying off the musical on their fragile shoulders. Teething troubles like some key characters falling fill, etc., do not seem to intimidate either the competent director or her proteges. "Despite everything," smiles Indu Dharmasena, "we must not forget that these are after all young children." But that is not to take away from the strength of the production which promises to hold the audience's interest with ease.

The idea of putting up a play first came from the Old Girls Association of Visakha Vidyalaya that decided to organise a musical to raise funds for the school and thus put back a little of what the school has done for them. Many members felt a need to portray the school as an 'English oriented' one and putting up a musical of this scale they thought would be the best medium. The intention was to emphasise the school's commitment to the medium of English instruction despite its image as a strongly Sinhalese Buddhist school. Members of the association are very much involved in every aspect of the production as they ply students with drinks and eats during the long rehearsals and generally keep a motherly eye on the tinier tots who form part of the chorus. In keeping with the recent trend for schools to revive old plays and musicals, the Old Girls Association and theatre director Indu Dharmasena put their heads together to come up with Fiddler on the Roof. A much-loved play that was later made into a film, it denotes simple values and adherence to tradition that was in keeping with the principles of the school. A musical was further chosen because more children could be used in the play.

The play takes place in the village of Anatevka in Russia in 1904. It centres around a dairyman Tevya and his five daughters. The entire musical captures humorously the successful and failed attempts at matchmaking for his five daughters. Though the little village embodies all that is traditional - Tevya in his simple loving manner allows his daughters to break tradition several times over. The humorous tale unfolds against the constant and unrelenting attacks against Tevya and other Jews in the small village in Czarist Russia. But Tevya and his indomitable spirit always rise above the gloom to break into song. As Indu Dharmasena says, "Though the ending is in a way sad, it ends on a note of hope." The tiny village embraces tradition fiercely because "without it their lives would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof".

The character of Tevya is played very competently by Avanti Perera. Her conviction in her role and her confidence of her singing abilities help her steer the play smoothly along. There is evidently good talent amongst the school children and even cameo roles like that of the Rabbi and Fruma Sarah are executed with remarkable insight. The director has laid emphasis on attention to historical details like costumes and traditional Jewish rites and there is no attempt at trivialising a culture that is at best foreign to these school children. The wedding scene of Tevya's eldest daughter Tzeitel is executed in a very convincing manner and is very engrossing. What is evident during each and every scene is the obvious enjoyment the children are deriving from their parts. Avers key player Avanti Perera, "we are working hard but having a whale of a time."

Written in Yiddish by popular fiction writer Sholom Aleichem in 1905 as a short tale, Fiddler on the Roof was adapted into a book by Joseph Stein who believed in its potential as a musical. It was later made into plays and a successful film. Choregrapher Shohan Chandiram has lent the dances in the school production, at once both - a solemn and a joyous air. The dances choreographed for the wedding scene and at the bar seem true to form. Simpler tunes like 'Do you love me' are rendered with touching simplicity. Despite the presence of almost 50 characters for some scenes on the stage, there is no element of confusion. The Fiddler on the Roof really remains a symbol of the simple people of Anatevka who are ''trying to scratch out a pleasant tune'' as Tevya says in the opening scene. And the tunes fly thick and fast with complementing music and strong and clear voices. Under Indu Dharmasena's directorial baton, all the energy, imagination and potential of the school girls of Visakha Vidyalaya is harnessed and released on stage to culminate in a professionally executed production. A must see for doting parents and theatre lovers.

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