Greek tragedy Sri Lankan style

by Dr. Nandasiri Jasentuliyana

Welcome to Greek Tragedy - Sri Lankan style. In a time of war and terrorism both local and abroad, theatre audiences crave escape and entertainment to balance out and emotionally heal from the daily horrors printed in the newspapers and seen on the television.

Namel Weeramuni's Maadyawediyakuge Asipatha" (The Journalist's Sword), is not that kind of production, and in fact, unflinchingly presents subjects that many would choose to avoid in the best of times: the use of torture against detainees and the importance of preserving human rights in times of political chaos, terrorism and war. It is a courageous production by a veteran playwright and producer, and it is arguably his best.

"Maadyawediyakuge Asipatha" works despite its emotionally draining and sometimes harrowing subject because of the beauty in its production: the scenes of abuse and torture at its worst are presented via balletic dance choreography performed without dialog, to music.

The director's choice to do so allows him to present otherwise unwatchable horror in an emotionally tolerable way. There is still enough realism to shine a harsh light on torture. This is top shelf drama of the type written by Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller - the kind of rare production that every theatre lover must dare to experience.

The play opens with orchestral music that sets the somber mood for the remainder of the performance. Following the theme music, several actors dressed in black appear on a darkened stage, holding candles and singing verses. One by one they briefly narrate their fate,... seemingly from the grave as ghosts.. as victims of torture.

The music fades and the audience is confronted by the interrogation room, which sets the scene for much of the play.

With a series of deft, crisp, short yet effective dialogue, a compelling story unfolds woven around the heroine, a female journalist, played admirably by Lalindra Dissanayake.

The acting of the entire cast is outstanding to a person. The role of the journalist and her brother (or person of mistaken identity) were extremely demanding, and they were able to make the torture seem brutal and realistic at times while interacting with dancers.

There is the pleasure of watching truly exhilarating acting at work, such as the best of Broadway and of other theatre bastions around the world, and I would say the acting of the heroine and her brother was second to none for such demanding roles.

The producer of the play, an accomplished actor himself, makes a cameo appearance as a government minister who, it is implied, is the man behind the journalist's detention and torture.

The implication, which is never concretely spelled-out, is that the journalist's columns had caused damage to the minister's reputation. The minister appears with hangers-on in a parody of the stereotypical Sri Lankan minister, and berates the interrogators for not having accomplished the task of obtaining a false confession from the journalists in view of the increasing public pressure on him.

This somewhat humorous interlude adds a needed emotional break to the play, which otherwise runs continuously without intermission in order to sustain the level of suspense that the play demands.

Fast-paced staging explores every twist and turn of the culture of torture as it heads to a conclusion that leaves the fate of the torturers unclear, and the audience left to wonder as to whether law and order prevails, or should prevail, or the torturers themselves were to be subjected to abuse at the hands of the authorities perpetuating the culture of torture.

The stylistic range and unerring appropriateness of the choreography as well as the music of Wasantha Kumara, Jayatissa Alahakoone and Somasiri Baddegama complements the play immensely.

The only criticism I can make of the play is that the characters of the torturers perhaps merited analysis, for I came away from the play wondering what background and motivations might have brought them to the level of brutality they displayed.

Are they simply cruel people by nature or the victims as well, of a society that at some level lends itself to torture? If somehow their mind set could have been explored in the play the value of this gem of a production could have been even more enhanced.

Ultimately the play presents impossibly tough subject matter in a manner that, while emotionally draining, allows a general audience to confront their feelings and thoughts about torture.

If the play succeeds as I think it will, it will cause everyone to re-think their views about torture whether they be that it is a necessary evil for evil times, or that it is categorically unconscionable - and subsequently re-build their opinions upon a more solid foundation of what the experience of torture really is for both captor and victim.

Maadyawediyakuge Asipatha will go on the boards once more on November 11, at the Punchi Theatre and on November 15, at the Lionel Wendt.