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• Leaving the nest
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Mind Games

Delon Weerasinghe previews 'Anna Weiss,' a powerful psychological drama

Imagine a woman who finds herself having to come to terms with memories of being sexually abused as a child. Imagine that woman being confronted with the image of her father as her abuser. Imagine an innocent father accused of the most violent and cruel form of betrayal by a daughter he loves. To both of them the truth is obvious. She knows that he is her abuser. He knows that he is not. Who's telling the truth, who's lying... Mike Cullen's play Anna Weiss isn't going to give any easy answers to those questions.

"It's a father's worst nightmare. A grown up daughter accusing him of the most horrific and terrible kind of sexual abuse," says Rohan Ponniah giving me a small summary of the play. Rohan plays David, a man destroyed by his daughter's allegations. The play revolves around memories of violent sexual abuse 'recovered' by 20 year old Lynn (Nimmi Harasgama) as a result of therapy. But whether her vivid recollections are actual memories from her own childhood, or merely ideas that have been put into her head by her therapist is something that the audience must figure out for themselves as the play progresses.

Even though the culture of therapy is not as widespread in Sri Lanka as it is in the West, there is no fear in the minds of the cast or the director that the subject will go above the heads of an audience. "It's contemporary in the way of language, and it's universal on the level of emotion. Culture may restrict the way we discuss it, or deal with it, but the message will still be clear." The play, even though based on the condition of "False memory syndrome," is more about three people trying to come to terms with the shadow of a terrible allegation which hangs above them like a cloud. It explores how it has destroyed three lives. "It's just a story of three people fighting for survival."

Even though the play is not about child abuse, it haunts every minute and word in it. Child abuse and especially sexual abuse are not subjects too frequently discussed in this society. 'It is sort of a no-go area for talk within a family or in society," says Ranmali Mirchandani who plays Anna, the title role. But Rohan Ponniah does not think that Anna Weiss will find ignorant audiences, "Even though the subject isn't widely discussed, I don't think anyone will walk out of the theatre saying 'gosh, I never knew things like this happen'. Because it is happening. It is happening in families. It is happening right here in Colombo."

Because the play casts a doubt as to whether Lynn was actually abused or if this whole story is just her imagination, there is some room for controversy. "We are not trying to make a case for child abusers and paedophiles,' says Rohan. "We are not offering a solution. We are merely presenting a situation. There is no question that child abuse exists. Recovered memory also exists. We are merely saying that false memory exists as well."

The play also strongly questions certain practices of psychotherapy. "There is a need for psychiatric help because some people just can't cope," says Rohan Ponniah. "But here you are dealing with the human mind, and the mind is a very complex thing. Our perceptions about people and things change all the time because of what we hear and see everyday." Imagine how much more susceptible the mind must be to suggestion in a situation where a person is asked to recall things while under hypnosis. "People who go to psychotherapists are looking for answers to their problems. Crutches. Something to blame. And sometimes doctors are under tremendous pressure to almost look for crutches to give people. This is what the play questions."

A play that is so heavy in its subject matter is bound to be intense and draining for the actors. "There is no way that we can go out somewhere even for dinner after practices. It's just not on," says Steve de la Zilwa, the director. Nimmi agrees with him, "After practices I just need to go home and unwind." Rohan sums it up when he says that, 'It is without a doubt the most difficult thing that I have ever done."

What makes it all the more difficult is the fact that there are only three characters in the entire play. 'Four,' protests Rohan referring to Steve, 'it's just that he won't be with us on stage." "Steve's incredible. The way he sees things is very special," says Ranmali. "And the chemistry amongst the cast is wonderful. And it has to be to make a play like this work. We're almost like parasites living and feeding off each other. The play has nothing other than the players to concentrate on. There will be no elaborate sets or lighting, no distractions."

Anna Weiss also marks sort of a comeback for two of these four people, even though they don't want to make a big issue of it. It's been more than ten years since the Sri Lankan stage has seen an effort by either Rohan Ponniah or Steve de la Zilwa. "The last thing I did on stage here was Chekhov's "The Swan Song', which I did for Richard's (De Zoysa) memorial," recalls Rohan. "The Little Shop of Horrors' was the last production I did," says Steve. "That was in 1986."

The story of how Anna Weiss, which is a relatively new play, came to the local stage is also an interesting one. "I went to the Edinburgh festival with Ranmali last year. The condition was that I came back with a play to do here," explains Steve. "Of course, Anna Weiss was a natural choice. It was the biggest thing on the fringes at last year's festival. It was making a lot of noise and everybody was talking about it." "Of course, when I saw it I cast it immediately. I wasn't looking at it from a point of view of relevance or anything like that. It was just a damn good script, and the roles are an actor's dream." The rest as they say, is history soon to be made.

Anna Weiss and the issues that it attempts to deal with maybe is an indication of a maturing of Sri Lankan theatre. Even though it is too early to say if the local stage will be the next hotbed of political expression and social awareness, the possibility is still intriguing. "Theatre is an evolving tradition," says Ranmali. "What they call "Awareness theatre" which deals with many social issues is already well established in many countries." But they all agree that the real test for serious theatre will be in quality. "I believe that our theatre audiences are discriminating," says Rohan. "If you give them something powerful they will appreciate it why shouldn't they?" Why not indeed?

Anna Weiss goes on stage at the Bishop's College Auditorium from August 27 - 30. Tickets are available at the British Council.

More Mirror Magazine * Is the grass always greener on the other side? * What the educators say * Leaving the nest