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| Sunday, 8 January 2006 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The Magic
Land - a treat for kids and adults
by Seneka Abeyratne The Magic Land, directed by Sashi Mendis de Costa, was staged at the Russian Cultural Center on December 19. The cast consisted of children aged 5 years and up, assembled from a range of public, private and international schools. Most of the vignettes in this polished and hugely entertaining production were derived from Aesop's fables - nearly as old as the Olympics, bigger than Dinosaur, and greater in number than Beanie Babies! There were some delightful poems and skits by other famous authors as well.
The esteemed author expresses delight that his stories are still being performed by children all over the world, while at the same time registering a gentle protest regarding the manner in which they have been tinkered with to suit the times. But the children enact the 'modernized' fables with such grace and elan that their creator (once a humble slave in the island of Samos) undergoes a dreamtic transformation as well, i.e. he puts on a pair of dark glasses, slips into some trendy clothing, swaggers about the stage, and even tries his hand at street dancing! The lively rap session performed by the 'chorus' was quite marvellous with Chantal Dassanayake, who displayed a natural flair for hip hop, stealing the show. Six months of hard work went into this production, which was quite a feat for these talented young children. Although they were a little nervous and hesitant at the start (due to stage fright, no doubt), they were a joy to watch once they got going. As the director explains: "The first three months focused mainly on grasping the basic skills and concepts of drama. The next three were a combination of such lessons as well as preparation for the actual performance." It was abundantly clear from the way the young thespians performed and even teased the Chief Guest with some tough, impromptu question ("What is the moral of the Lion and Mouse story, Professor Fonseka?" was one that stumped him momentarily!) that Sashi has a gift for working with children and for bringing out the best in them. They delivered some lengthy monologues without batting an eyelid and conveyed the humour in their lines with such verve and panache that they had many of us in the audience gasping with wonder. There were some truly memorable performances, especially by Eleesha Munasinghe in the " Banyan Tree and the Little Grass" and Isuru Leelarathna and Kaavya Weerasundera, who play little babies coyly flirting with one another in "Boy Meets Girl". Moreover, their projection was so good that every word could be heard, even at the back of the hall. To say that these kids impressed the audience with their spontaneity and wonderful stage presence would be an understatement. I think we were all swept off our feet. Of course, there were some grown-ups too on the stage (teenagers, I mean) to hold the production together and give it depth and maturity. They were quite adept at playing multiple roles and elevated the production with some sensitive and versatile acting, especially in the concluding section. Kanishka Herat, Yohan Pinto, Dilushi de Mel, Lahiru Aravinthkumar, Janik Sittampalam and Kavishka Welgama, stood out in this regard. In contrast to the earlier items, which were lively and witty (with a liberal sprinkling of cheeky improvisation), the final item - Papa Papanov's Magic Christmas (from a story by Leo Tolstoy) - was solemn and deeply introspective. The manner in which love, compassion and faith in the teaching of Christ can transform ordinary lives through divine intervention is the underlying theme of this short, but compelling drama which, as the title suggests, has a touch of magic, a fitting end to this splendid evening of entertainment. Although the lights were basic, they were skilfully used to enhance mood and atmosphere, and the choice of music (a mix of classical, rap and contemporary) was also excellent, the occasional lapses notwithstanding in respect of timing and track selection. In sum, Sashi Mendis de Costa deserves encomiums for having undertaken a difficult and challenging assignment and pulled it off with aplomb. Working with children in developing their artistic skills as well as their personalities is undoubtedly her forte. |
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A clear device used in this production is a guest appearance by Aesop
himself - played with finesse by Lahiru Aravinthkumar - some 2,600 years
after he wrote these timeless moral animal fables. 
