Arts

Review:

The Trojan Women: A stunning success in Sinhala theatre

by Ranga Chandrarathne

The Sinhalese production of Euripides's Greek classical play " Trojan Women " which had been staged at different theatres throughout the country for the last six years, recently celebrated its sixth anniversary of staging at the Lionel Wendt theatre.

The play is woven around a closely knitted series of incidents that took place following the capture of Troy by Greeks in a war called Peloponnesian. The soldiers killed all the men in the city and enslaved women after razing the city of Troy to the ground, blistering its fine architecture.

The action commenced when the Athenian army was about to sail with the captured women; the ordinary women of Troy were, by then divided, by the Athenian army among themselves and the noble women were imprisoned awaiting their fate.

Among the captured women was the wife of the slain king Priam, Hecuba. The play revolves around her character and the fate befell on her royal family and the razing of the much-loved city of Troy which ultimately fell into the hands of the invading barbarians marking the end of the Greek civilization.

A spell binding performance, a magnum opus in its own right, Dharmasiri Bandaranayake's Sinhalese rendering of the Euripides's play "Trojan Woman "is certainly going to make its mark in the Sri Lankan theatre, not only as one of the most impressive and moving anti-war dramas of our time but also as an enduring work of art which as the original stood centuries, would certainly stand the test of the time inspiring generation of Sinhala theatergoers with its content and universal message of vagaries of war which will ultimately bring about destruction to the victors and vanquished and would destroy entire civilizations as it did to the show-piece city of Troy and the Greek civilization.

From the begging to the end, the drama though does not have the traditional ingredients of climax, anti-climax and the sequential end captured the viewers' attention binding them emotionally to the tragedy unfolding before their very eyes.

Especially, the scene of Trojan women wrapping the body of the slain Hector's young son Astyanax with bloodstained cloths was moving and insightful. This signifies the total collapse of the social order in Troy and the once revered social institutions which were the cardinal pillars of the Greek civilizations.

In the face of the ferocious war, all the social norms and traditions, institutions fall one by one as the magnificent edifices of the City of Troy. The war devours them all. It is a whirlwind that destroys the very foundation of the civilization; the institution of family, religion and the entire social order gives its way to the emerging barbarism which may crop up in diverse forms throughout history in different societies and at different times.

It is this universal quality that makes "The Trojan Women " which had been written by Euripides around 480 BC , applicable to war in any part of the world and in a modern-day context. The universal truth which thus dawns is applicable to wars from Bosnia to Afghanistan and to any war or civil strife that may prop up in future.

Through the case of Casssandra, the daughter of Queen Hecuba and King Priam, a dedicated priestess to the God of Apollo, had to sacrifice her chastity on the bed of Agamemnon, commander of Greek Army, Euripides tries to portray how war would destroy the sanctity of religion and the temple of God.

It is interesting to note here that the two years after the play was written, what Euripides predicted in the play had actually befallen on the city of Troy.

He wanted to dissuade the rulers of Troy from engaging in protracted war and drew home the truth that war would destroy them all. However, the rulers did not heed the sane counsel of the few intellectuals of the day resulting in the destruction of the entire civilization.

One of the striking features of the Sinhalese production of the "The Trojan Women "is the application of Bertolt Brecht's epic theatre in the play which serves to highlight the contemporaneous nature of the plot; the Trojan War which Euripides uses as an effective metaphor.

The cast including Anoja Weerasinghe as Hecuba, Meena Kumari as Cassandra, Yashoda Wimaladharma as Andromache and the Director, Dharmasiri Bandaranayake who brilliantly plays the role of Menelaus contribute to the overall success of the play.

The Stage Management of the play which was translated into Sinhala by Ariyawansa Ranaweera was ably done by Priyantha Prabhash and Ranga Bandaranayake. The Stage Management, especially under trying circumstances, was done with a superb precision that it did not disturb the subtle sequence of the events.

Sri Lankan spectators could also see one of the brilliant theatrical performances by veteran actress Anoja Weerasinghe as Hecuba, the pivotal character in the play around which all the other characters revolve.

It once again, establishes the fact that Anoja could be capable of serious emotions and fits herself into complex characters. Her contribution to the "The Trojan Women "as Hecuba, the main character is outstanding and sheds light on other characters such as Andromache and Cassandra.

Though young, Meena Kumari who plays the role of Cassandra sows the seed of excellence in her and establishes herself as one of the budding talents in Sinhala theatre. She has done justice to her character and ably portrays complex emotions that the role demands of.

Perhaps, next to Hecuba, Cassandra is the most important character in the play through which Euripides depicts the wanton destruction of religious devotion as a result of hatred and war. Veteran dramatist Dharmasiri Bandaranayake should be commended not only for bringing up a contemporary theme into Sinhala theatre but also for producing a masterpiece in Sinhala which would, in turn, enrich the Sinhala theatre which is increasingly losing its grandeur and depth.

All in all, the drama dawns on the spectators the universal truth of futility of war and its ferocious nature. It is the war and the unbridled hatred that devours entire nations and civilizations reducing them to mere rubbles and barren land of humanity.

[email protected]

'Little hands on canvas thirteen'

Mrs. Sweenitha de Alwis' school of art was set up about six years ago. There are school going children from the ages of 06 to 18 and even adults who are instructed in drawing and painting. We have had several art exhibitions at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery.

Once again we are proud to announce that the students of the Mrs. Sweenitha de Alwis are making arrangements to hold an exhibition "Little hands on canvas thirteen" and a sale of their oil paintings at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery from December 1-3.

The exhibition will be opened on December 1 at 6.30 p.m. by Mr. R. Renganathan, Deputy Chairman of Ceylinco Consolidated who will grace the occasion.

The exhibition will be open for the public on December 2 and 3 from 9.30 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. There will be about 200 paintings on display during the exhibition. Thirteen students in the age group of 6-15 years will participate, the proceeds of which will be utilized towards a worthy cause in the near future.

We are happy to mention that we have re-furnished the Children's Ward at Colombo South Hospital (Kalubowila) and the Cancer hospital with the earnings from previous exhibitions.

With the last exhibition, "Little Hands on Canvas Thirteen", we were able to donate 5 wall mounted oxygen terminals for Ward - 2 at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for children.

Names of the following "Little Hands" from the youngest upwards are the participants at this forthcoming "Little Hands on Canvas Thirteen" exhibition. Seneli Seneviratne, Devmith Udage, Samira Fredrick, Mark Peterson, Rusheni Antony, Ajay David, Salome Fernando, Buddhima Rekawa, Shahini Gunawardena, Shehani Guruge, Sajuni Fernando, Dinesh Liyanage and Shehan Gunawardena.

Lionel Ranwala Commemorate

by Ranga Chandrarathne

Lionel Ranwala who did much research on Sri Lankan Folk-songs and folk Art and discovered a unique style of music will be commemorated on his birthday on November 27, by the Lionel Ranwala Jana Gee Kandayama (Lionel Ranwala Troupe).

In addition to the arms giving in memory of the late maestro, his hitherto unpublished song and a website (www.ranwala.com) dedicated to the times and works of Lionel Ranwala will be launched at the ceremony.

Lionel Ranwala was a pioneering teacher of music who served for a long time at Ananda College and was considered as a researcher and a scholar especially on traditional folk songs and music. He was the successor of W.D. Makuloluwa.