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| Sunday, 12 September 2004 |
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Into the Wilderness : Theatre with a difference by Umangi de Mel
"This a going to be a new theatre experience with three different sections connected to a single play," says the proud director, explaining that the sections portray the three different aspects of life vividly depicted in Louise Mc Niese's poem, Prayer before Birth. Commenting on the production, Vinodh says the audience always look forward to new approaches in theatre, as theatre-goers have matured in their outlook and appreciate changes. "The more innovative the play, the better the reception," he says adding that theatre-goers want to see something different and not the usual humdrum in a play. "This year, we thought of doing the play with a relatively new cast. The only two seasoned members are Chaminda and Biman," he says explaining that the guys are better at doing serious theatre now and hence they had come up with three plays that talk about three situations every human being face at some point of time in life. According to Vinodh the play is all about social issues, "You might not think you will end up in prison someday. But it's a reality and it might happen at some point or another. This idea is clearly depicted in the play, which is an attempt at reaching out to reality and coming to terms with the truth" he says. The first part of the play is about the compelling issue of an autistic person. The second is about adultry. "The audience might wonder why the play is dealing with such serious issues, with school boys in the cast, but I personally feel that the students are advanced and can cope with acting these parts with aplomb," says Vinodh adding "These are not topics which can be ignored anymore." The first play is about an autistic boy and how society deals with the ailment which can affect anybody. The play is also about how society has misinterpreted the whole issue of autism. Into the wilderness effectively deals with this issue bringing to light the emotions of a person affected with autism. Expressing his views on autism, Vinodh says, "These children might be slightly disabled, but they are almost normal in every other way. They have the same kind of emotions as any normal human being and crave for love and care." Vinodh says that while watching the play the audience is bound to get emotional as some of the lines in the play are heart wrenching. The second play is a about a common issue that people face in day-to-day life. "A man is having an extra marital affair. He is torn between two worlds - that of his legal wife and his lover. In the play, however, he loses out, because both women ditch him in the end. This play is a good lesson because you cannot cheat life. But there's a nice twist in the end, which is very catchy," he adds. The final play is about six men sentenced to death. "One of them, however, has the power to save them from the gallows. But he is possessed by the devil. It is up to the audience to see what happens in the end" he says. According to Vinodh all the issues are topical except that the plays deal with them in an entertaining fashion". Vinodh talks about how theatre has been stagnant for sometime. "We want to do a bit of serious theatre. Many comedies are produced and it might be that people want to have entertaining theatre, and have a good laugh at the end of the day". But this he emphasises is not the end all and be all of theatre. There is so much more, and it is this aspect of theatre, that Vinodh intends delving into. He is looking into serious theatre. "Giving my students a chance to act in various forms of theatre is what I want", he elaborates. Chaminda Samaraweera (18) a seasoned student of drama, says he has had many acting experiences. "In 2003, we did Christmas Perpetua and the Interact Club organised a drama competition in which we performed No Why. The last play I did was the musical Braho and drums", he says. Commenting on Into the Wilderness he says it is a challenge switching from acting one kind of emotion to another. "In the first play, I have to act as a disabled person. In the second, I play a man, who is lost between two women and in the last one, I am possessed by the devil. Once you get the hang of the character you are portraying, acting it out is not that tough," he confesses. Biman Wimalaratne (16) yet another senior student who has taken part in plays like Oliver and Romeo and Juliet says being president of a drama society and acting are both pretty interesting. Into the Wilderness he says is a totally different experience. "We are depicting the darker side of life and the play deals with more serious issues", he says. The St. Thomas' drama society is one of the oldest amongst schools in Sri Lanka and has produced many plays in its over 133 years of existences, ranging from Shakespeare to Wilde, Chekhov and contemporary playwrights. According to Vinodh the drama society's is at present trying to be innovative. "I've been in the Society since I came to school and this is my 18th year. "I've taken part in Shakespeare dramas and was awarded Best Actor in 1992. Currently I'm the head of the English Literary Association and Performing Arts for the whole school," he says, adding that the Drama Society does two productions a year. "I'm happy to see the progress. People who never put a foot on stage, let alone act, are really into acting now and are doing well. This is an accomplishment. I want Into the Wilderness to be an experience of a different kind and hope those who come to see it will enjoy it". |
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| Produced by Lake House |
Will it be a wilderness venture? Vinod Senadheera, who has in the past
veered away from the tried and tested in his attempt to be innovative in
his theatrical presentation, has come up with Into the Wilderness which
promises to be a novel experience for drama fans.
