Ibsen's problem play - An Enemy of the People - (Mung gen ung) at the Punchi Theatre from November 10:

The strongest man on earth...

by Aditha Dissanayake

"I believe cricket is the greatest thing that God ever created on Earth, certainly better than 'love', although 'love' isn't too bad either" said Harold Pinter. But, had he been at the Punchi Theatre, on Tuesday, October 24 at six in the evening, while the South Africa versus Sri Lanka match was on, he would have rephrased the sentence.

He would surely have replaced "cricket" with "drama" - he would have realized watching the adaptation of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People (Mung geng ung) is far greater than watching a cricket match!

The sentiments are not mine. They come from a diehard cricket fan, who was in the audience watching the rehearsals of Namel Weeramuni's new play scheduled to go on the boards from November 10, 2006 at the Punchi Theatre.

Having practised for about two months now, on Tuesday, even with three of the cast missing, the rehearsals went with only a slight hitch here and there. "you should stand here, not there' addressed one actor to his colleague, in between his lines, while another agonized over the choice of a tie till Director Weeramuni himself stepped in and made the decision.

Seated in the first row, absorbed in the action unraveleing on the stage, he rarely intervened except to prompt a forgotten line or to remind the protagonist that he should remember to wear his spectacles, whenever he is on the stage.

For the uninitiated, An Enemy of the People is one of several Ibsen dramas that are sometimes referred to as /problem plays/ because they centre on social problems and controversial community issues.

A realistic stage drama in five acts, the play depicts ordinary life as it is and not as one would like it to be. Though published in 1882, like all good classics the work reflects the problems faced by the masses regardless of time or place.

Realistic yet precise

Like Ibsen who wanted to make his plays uncompromisingly realistic, (he wrote the dialogue in simple, everyday, middle-class language rather than the elegant, lofty, or trope-laden sentences characteristic of romantic plays) Namel Weeramuni too, uses everyday Sinhala in his adaptation; yet, in mimicking vernacular speech, chooses and arranges his words carefully; so much so that, every word and every sentence counts. i.e "Me jalasaya ape nagaraye athmaya bawata path wevi (The pool will become the soul of our town).

So too the stage. In keeping with the realistic plot and dialogue, the stage sets of Mung gen ung, resemble the furnishings of everyday life.

Ordinary chairs, ordinary tables...ordinary people going about their ordinary lives.

Among the several themes depicted in the play is the truism, truth must not be hidden, diluted, or altered even when it goes counter to the wishes of the majority. In other words, what matters is not what everyone thinks or wants, but what is right.

Thus in Act I the Mayor (Asela Serasinghe) criticizes the assertion of the individual-will on society by saying "The individual ought undoubtedly to acquiesce in subordinating himself to the community-or, to speak more accurately, to the authorities who have the care of the community's welfare."

And in so doing, sets up the clash later in the play with his brother, who indeed asserts his will.

Laugh or cry

Talking about the theme of avarice in the drama, Namel Weeramuni says he decided to adapt An Enemy of the People into Sinhala because the drama highlights one of the greatest weaknesses among us - the love of money, which he believes is the cause of all evil. 'I'm questioning the present situation in our society. People will even sell poison for money".

Through the Mayor and his supporters the drama also portray how, seemingly upright citizens will compromise their morals when their wallets and livelihood are threatened. All that glitters is not gold - the town's leading citizens are outwardly attractive but inwardly repulsive.

The story of one man's brave struggle to do the right thing and speak the truth in the face of extreme societal intolerance, one has to watch Mung gen ung to the end to decide if it is a comedy or a straight drama.With its many traits of comedy, yet, based on a serious idea the play is bound to turn out to be every drama addicts dream.

Mung gen ung will be staged at the Punchi Theatr from November10 to17, 2006 (except on 12th) at 6.45 pm.

The cast: Daya Tennakoon,Malini WeeramuniAsela Serasinghe, Rizwan Mohamad,Yenitha Damayanthi,Senevirathna Bandara, Susantha Gunasekara, Anil Wijesinghe,Sarath Kongalage.