|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 4 July 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Review : Guttila - entertaining theatre experience In contrast to the abundance of imported Musicals Colombo has never been treated to a full length, original musical where the libretto were written, composed and produced by Sri Lankans in English. It may be because English theatre in SL is a niche indulged in by a westernised elite. Our congratulations to Udakka Tennakoon who wrote the script in English verse inspired by the Guttila Kaviya: a Sinhala literary masterpiece based on a Jathaka story, Diliup Gabadamudalige for composing the music for the lyrics and was also the producer of he musical Guttila which went on the boards last month at the Bishop's College auditorium. Diliup the producer and music director decided that he would use fresh talent and auditioned for them. So we saw brand new faces and singers on the stage. The opening scene was as good as any sophisticated West End production. It depicted a street scene in Benares. The movement of the colourfully dressed actors, dancers and the haunting melody of Benares Oh Benares took the audience by storm. From then on the simple story line the music and singing captured their interest. Dushyanth Weeraman as Guttila had a good voice but he overplayed his gentleness and humility and so appeared as a weak character. Christopher Stephen as Musilla played his role to perfection bringing out greed ruthlessness and impudence of the character he was portraying. Imani Perera as Anapoora made her debut as a singer. Her voice has a flutelike quality. Her duet with Guttila could be made more effective with harmonization Ravindra Perera as Sakra and John Wijesinghe as Panditha were imposing characters but their words were not clear. The costuming by Lou Ching Wong was colourful, appropriate and in keeping with the period. The colour combinations of the different characters were also very effective on stage while the back drop with minimal changes which were portrayed the different scenes were deftly and cleverly planned. Altogether it was an entertaining theatre experience we were proud that it was a Sri Lankan production. Congratulations !!! However the ticket sales were mismanaged and I almost missed the performance; as on the phone I was told that they were sold out. I went to the venue hoping for at least a return ticket but found plenty available on sale. - Selvie Perera *************** Exhibition by Aboriginal artist An exhibition of prints and paintings by a leading Australian artist Judy Watson will be held at finomenal space, Galleface court one from July 6-12.
Watson has won international recognition for her work. She co-represented Australia in the 1997 Venice Biennale and won the Moet and Chandon Fellowship in 1995. The exhibition, supported by the Australian High Commission and the Asialink Centre of the University of Melbourne, will commemorate Australia's National Aboriginal Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week. NAIDOC Week is the outcome of a long history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander efforts to bring issues of interest and concern to Indigenous peoples to the attention of Governments and the general public. NAIDOC Week events highlight Indigenous issues in Australia and provide an opportunity to display the richness and diversity of Australian Indigenous culture. Honourable Mention
One hundred and twenty cartoonists from 48 countries participated in the contest. For Tharaswin, who is a cartoonist at “Dinamina” Sinhala newspaper of Lake House, this makes the 15th win in a successive run of awards in cartoon contests held in West Germany, America, Japan and Switzerland.
|
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
The exhibition titled 'Sacred grounds beating hearts" consists of
works by Watson over the past fifteen years. Watson is an Aboriginal
artist from North West Queensland and her art focuses on her highly
personal vision of the land of her family and people.
Are people of the Third World pitched at different inflections on the musical scale to entertain people of the First World? Ruwan Tharaswin, the well-known cartoonist attached to Lake House, depicted this reality in cartoon and carried away an Honourable Mention Award at the 8th International Cartoon Contest - Haifa 2003, conducted by the Israel National Commission for UNESCO, the Israel Cartoon Association PENCOM and Haifa Municipality.
