Talk of the town:

Too good to be true?
 

Madyavedi yakuge Asipatha

Cast Lalindra Dissanayake, Anil K. Wijesinghe, Namel Weeramuni, Upul Sanjeewa, Tharindu Madusanka, Seneviratne Bandara, Lukshi Mendis, Samudra Jeevani, Darshana Nuwan, Sanjeewa Jayatilleke, Samson Gamlath, Nalin Kumara, Sharmain Vithanage, Isuruni Fernando, Gayani Weerasooriya, Nipuna Randika, Danushka Jayasinghe, Krishantha Wettasinghe, Susantha Gunasighe.
 

by Aditha Dissanayake

A journalist at the mercy of the leader of the underworld : Anil K Wijesinghe and Lalindra Dissanayake in Madyavediyakuge Asipatha

Ever wondered how you can destroy a woman's self-respect. Deflower her. In front of an audience of more than four hundred? No problem. Ask the leader of the underworld (Anil K. Wijesinghe) and he will show you how with the support of Lalindra Dissanayake, Tharindu Madusanka, Samudra Jeevani and twenty others clad in blue denims, white t-shirts or covered in pure black from head to toe, in a place a short distance away from the Borella junction.

I know what you are thinking, because I thought the same, a huge cast of relatively unknown actors at the Punchi Theater! What kind of acting could they do? Apparently, a great deal.

In Namel Weeramuni's new play, each actor and actress is interwoven into a well organized revelation of how the media is stifled and turned into cripples by corrupt politicians.

"Maadyavediyakuge Asipatha" (The sward of a journalist) is so ridiculously brilliant, so lavish and sublime an invention that I am sure any set of adjectives I might use here, after watching the rehearsals on Wednesday, will more than likely be replaced by another set of equally or more ecstatic adjectives once I see the show when it goes on the boards at the Punchi Theatre.

This play is probably the most different and therefore the most fun play you will see this October, one reason being that everything about it is so resolutely anti-romantic.

In its bluntness and depth, "Madyavediyakuge Asipatha" is a welcome relief from the superficial creations that some playwrites have been peddling recently. Here, you almost cannot bear the pain - not to mention the horror, and the torture, Director, Namel Weeramuni hurls at you like a never ending line of gunfire.

“Why didn’t your man come?”

Trampled by the underworld

Full of strong lines, (thopita ammala thathala nadda) and behaviour totally stripped of inhibitions (a homosexual who openly displays his emotions and a gangster who rapes the protagonist) the play generates an unavoidable sense of unease - where are we heading if we live in a society where people are killed like ants and cockroaches.

The solution is in the hands of politicians, in this case, the Minister Apahasalabhi Danawardena Bala lobhi... Sangwardene.

Through the plight of a woman journalist who tries to stand up for the freedom of the media, the play focuses on how the truth never reaches the public thanks to the manipulations of the underworld, backed by politicians.

To convey so many subtle ideas so dramatically and economically is a considerable achievement. This is not all . Listen closely and you will hear not only the revelations of the present tragic situation of the media, but that thrilling sound that is one of the main reasons we go to the theatre, beautiful music, with wonderful dance movements created here by Wasantha Kumara, Jayatissa Alahakoon and Somasiri Baddegama.

This new play is surely a gift to all drama lovers, one which P.B Shelley would have approved, for here is a drama "of the highest order where there is little food for censure". Catch you at the Punchi Theatre on September 27, October 2, 3,5 & 6 at 6.45 pm to witness an unforgettable performance.

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