Arts

Asinamali - Agony of the down-trodden

Colombo Youth Theatre Festival:

by Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga Chandrarathne

One of the seminal productions of the recently concluded Colombo Youth Theatre Festival was the Sinhalese adaptation of Mbongeni Ngema's Asinamali" . The drama found relevant in the post-colonial world derived its name, from a political slogan meaning 'Nothing to Lose'.

The slogan 'Asinamali' has a long association with the South African struggle against Apartheid. One of the salient characteristics of Ngema's plays is the multiple roles played by a minimum number of actors against a singular setting on the stage, a technique similar to those in Woza Albert.

The story of the plays revolve around a chance union of five prisoners from diverse parts of South Africa. They are incarcerated at Leeuwkop Prison zealously guarded by Afrikaana-speaking police.

Within the confines of the prison, the audience is taken to far as the flung hamlets of South Africa when the incarcerated prisoners relate their experiences, their former lives, political ideology, mentors and their crimes.

The individual stories reflect upon the system of social injustice and the crushing poverty which has deprived the hapless population of their fundamental rights of a decent life.

Though the prisoners are not saints, petty thieves and sexists and active participants in political violence, they are more or less prisoners of a vicious system. The protagonist of the play is the vicious apartheid regime which kept South Africans as second class citizens in their land of birth.

The Sinhalese adaptation of Asinamali by Pujitha de Mel is marked for its theatrical excellence as well as the Sinhalese rendering of the original work, capturing the spirit of the plot.

Especially the colloquial diction has been used, perhaps, in the most appropriate manner, making it closer to the heart and minds of the Sinhala theatre goers. Another important role that adaptations and translation of master pieces from world theatre play is that it has enriched the Sinhala theatre at a time the Sinhala theatre is at its lowest ebb.

The action takes place at Leeuwkop in a South African prison and as the harrowing stories of the four convicts are enacted in the prison cell, the audience is taken to the diverse parts of South Africa, revealing the corrupt and unjust apartheid regime and the kind of life that it offers for the impoverished population.

Beki Mqadi is implicated in a law suit and convicted and Thami Shelly has been found guilty of adultery. Bengani who is an unemployed youth has been implicated in a murder while in search of employment and the Boi Nagma is a young politician and Solomsy Bishlow is a pick-pocket.

Their stories are the reflection of a degenerated society where hallowed institutions are falling one by one under the apartheid regime. The drama ends with the release of the prisoners.

Significant characteristic of the Sinhalese production is that the troupe was able to preserve the intrinsic quality of the original production by excellent stage management, portraying the characters in a way that should not evoke a feeling of pity.

Bertolt Brecht's theatres techniques have also been used to distance the audience from getting emotionally engaged with the characters which would, otherwise, hamper the objective of the drama.

All most all the performers are well-trained and the coordination among them in playing diverse roles within a confines of the prison cell as well as the gradual changing of the scenes seems to be meticulously planned, rendering the drama a memorable theatrical experience for Sri Lankan theatre goers. The organisers of the festival should be commended for the high quality productions and the contribution that the festival made to the youth theatre in Sri Lanka.

The present crisis in the Sinhala theatre arose following the natural death of resurgence in theatre spearheaded by Peradeniya School and subsequent dramatists such as Sugathapala de Silva, Parakkrama Niriella and Dharmasiri Bandaranayake.

Most of the contemporary production lack depth and insight as they do not either reflect the ground realities of a fast moving life-style in contemporary Sri Lanka or agonies and suffering of the masses who have been overburdened by host of social issues such as abject poverty, unemployment and the rising cost of living.

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Memories of a Monkey Boy: Powerful music drama

by Ranga Chandrarathne

A powerful music drama 'Memories of a Monkey Boy' will go onboard at the British School Auditorium in Colombo, September 15-20. A powerful theatrical marvel with a universal message is presented by talented students of the Abhina Academy. The cast includes the Tsunami-affected and physically and mentally challenged children from Rohana Special School in Matara.

Against the back drop of haunting music by Dinesh Subasinghe, the story of the drama is woven around an outcast young man whose behaviour is different to the members of his community.

The play not only reveals the subtleties of the human mind and its coping mechanisms dealing with trauma but also reveals nature of the contemporary society.

This project is very special because it involves not only people who have suffered in the tsunami and the aftermath, it also has people who have special needs, people who cannot, hear, cannot speak and people born with Down syndrome.

This is a unique combination and we are always learning from each other. Strange goes on to say, 'The project is also very special because the stories have been developed from the experience of the people who have lived through them.

This makes it very cathartic and helps them somehow understand why they have to suffer and try to find a way to live life to the fullest from now on,' says Wolfgang Stange.

HSBC's involvement in this production is a follow up to the successful staging of the Sinhala version of Brecht's 'Mother Courage and Her Children' in March of 2006, which was a project undertaken together with the Abhina Academy of Performing Arts.

The performance itself was the culmination of six months of drama therapy workshops 'Therapy through Drama' carried out throughout the island by Anoja Weerasinghe, together with the Abhina Academy.

The success of 'Mother Courage' was important because it gave the tsunami-affected actors and actresses, the opportunity to perform in a range of locations within and outside Sri Lanka, in addition to winning four major awards at the National Drama Festival 2007.

Speaking at the press conference, Shiroma Jayawickrama, Manager Public Affairs at HSBC said, 'We have a long-term commitment to empowering the youth and the differently-abled through various programmes. Drama is one such way'.

The production is spearheaded by eminent stage and film actress Anoja Weerasinghe, the founder of the Abhina Academy. Weerasinghe has secured the services of prominent personalities from the British theatre to collaborate in this venture.

This stunning new show is directed by Wolfgang Stange of the AMICI Dance Theatre Company, which specialises in integrating performers with and without disabilities and Stange's speciality lies in teaching creative expression through dance and movement to people who are physically or mentally disadvantaged.

Having worked in the field of theatre and education for 33 years, Stange has taught extensively in Europe, Asia and America. His particular method of teaching is known as 'Dance Dynamics'.

The cast comprises young survivors of the Asian tsunami and students from the Rohana Special School. While the production team includes; Anoja Weerasinghe, Dinesh Subasinghe, Swinitha Premaratne, Nalinda Premaratne, Priyantha Prabash and members of the Abhina Academy of Performing Arts together with Wolfgang Stange of AMICI; Rob Thirtle and Julian Crouch of Improbable, Phil Supple and Alison King from Turtle King Arts.

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Jeoffrey Archer's 'The Accused' at Ladies' College

The students of Royal College will present Jeffrey Archer's latest play 'The Accused', a tense Court room drama at Ladies' College's auditorium on September 14,15 and 16. Tickets will be out at Royal College.

Students aged 14-20 will be taking part in the performance which will be different to the conventional production as the audience also get involved in the play. A significant aspect of the play is that the audience will act as the Jury in a tense law suit heard at the Old Bailey.

Depending on the verdict of the audience the drama takes a different courses and 'The Accused' will be a novel experience for Sri Lankan theatre goers.

(RC)