Unique event for theatre-goers

Colombo Theatre Festival for young audience 2008:

By Ranga Chandrarathne

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The much awaited Colombo Theatre Festival for young audience will be held from August 8 to 10 at Lionel Wendt theatre for the third time under the theme ‘Theatre for Education and Reconciliation’. The festival is organised by Lanka Children’s and Youth Theatre Foundation (LCYTF).

The festival consists of three insightful plays with special emphasis on societal issues. Che saha Juliet (Che and Juliet) by Chamila Priyanka, “Security” by Hewage Bandula and Valentine Enakan (Waiting for Valentine) by Dhananjaya Karunaratne and two main stream plays Vikurthi (Distortion) by Somalatha Subasinghe and Sanda Langa Maranaya (Blood Wedding) by Kaushalya Fernando will be staged during the festival.

The three short plays will be staged at 3.30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on August 8, 2008 while mainstream productions Vikurthi and Sanda Langa Maranaya will be staged at 3.30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on August 9 and August 10.

The objective of the festival is to provide a platform for young and talented theatre directors to showcase their productions while making available the opportunity for Sri Lankan audience to watch and appreciate meaningful productions.

The play Che Saha Juliet highlights the plight of present day youth who are compelled to engage in many activities in order to survive in society. The play analyses issues confronting youth.

The play won the best short play’s award for the year 2007 at the National Short Drama Festival and it also won awards for the best actress and best script. The cast includes Mayura Kanchana, Geetha Alahakoon, Pramod Edirisinghe and Nimmi Priyadarshini. Stage management is by Hasitha Indeewari.

Security by Hewage Bandula is woven around a youth in an increasingly insecure society. The youth drifts between reality and fantasy in his politically inclined behaviour in the society. The cast includes Thusitha Laknath, Lanka Bandaranayake and Sanjeewa Upendra. Music is by Thilanka Gamage. Lighting is by Ranga Samarakoon.

Valentine Enakan, a short play written and directed by Dhananjaya Karunaratne, is about a belief in society that man should always be taller than the woman. Dhananjaya questions the phenomena as to whether it is a queer coincidence or made-up combination.

The story is woven around a girl and a boy who grew up from their childhood and eventually became lovers.

However the girl grew out to be taller than the boy which became an issue in the eyes of the society. Valentine Enakan was adjudged the best production at the State short drama festival 2001. It also won the awards for best actress and best script. The cast includes Chandani Seneviratne and Susith Ishantha. Lighting is by Wasantha Kumara and music is by Kapila Pugalaarachhi.

Audience also waiting to watch three short plays. Vikurthi (Distortion) is a play by Somalatha Subasinghe, a satirical exposure of folly on the part of those parents who tried hard to fulfill their failed aspirations through their children irrespective of their talents and aptitudes.

The play when it was originally staged in 1980s made an impact on the social attitudes of the middle class parents whose prime goal of their life was to make their son or daughter a medical doctor.

The neighbours, relations were inquisitive about the examination results while parents were caught up in a rat race of making their children doctors leaving absolutely no room for them to engage in recreational activities or in sports. Vikurthi revolves around a young and bright girl who loves to go for dancing classes as she is the best student in the class.

However, ambitious parents want, some how, to make her a doctor. The play ends in talented child becoming a crazy doctor earning sympathy of the audience. Play is a social satire and by and large contributed to change the social attitudes of the day. Though social attitudes have been changed dramatically since the original production, Vikurthi still relevant for those parents who are trying hard to fulfill their failed objectives through their hapless children.

The cast includes Namal Jayasinghe, Prasannajith Abeysuriya, Geetha Alahakoon, Mayura Kanchana, Suresh Fernando, Sharmaine Gunaratne, Sanjaya Hettiarachchi, Ishara Wickramasinghe, Hiran Abeysekera, Nimmi Priyadharshini and Wickrama Seneviratne. M. R. Chulasinghe composed music for the play. Choreography is by Somalatha Subasinghe and Chandana Aluthge. Stage lighting is by Chandana Aluthge and make-up is by Sumedha Hewawitharana.

Kaushalya Fernando’s Sanda Langa Maranaya, is the Sinhala version of Blood Wedding. Blood Wedding, one of the famous trilogies based upon Spanish society, written by Federico Garcia Lorca in response to a newspaper article concerning a local murder in rural Spain.

It basically highlights the incongruity between marriage and sex life. Although marriage is a social institution which bounds two individuals together in a legal bond, some times it fails owing to differences and class of characters as well as mismatch of individuals.

The play brings out the fact that basis of marriage is nothing but a successful sex life. Sanda Langa Maranaya won eight awards including the best play of the year at National Drama Festival in 2005. Sanda Langa Maranaya cast includes Somalatha Subasinghe, Lucian Bulathsinghala, Chamila Peries, Wishvajith Gunasekera, Mayura Kanchana, Nadee Kammallaweera and Suresh Fernando.

Nadeeka Guruge composed music for the play. Choreography and stage lighting are by Chandana Aluthge. Stage sets and properties are by Namal Jayasinghe while make-up is by Sumedha Hewawitharana. Stage management is by Aruna Jayasena and Shameen Athuraliya.

The LCYTF or Play House-Kotte which was established as a voluntary organisation (as Lanka Children’s and Youth Theatre Organisation) in 1981 by Mrs. Somalatha Subasinghe, the veteran playwright and theatre director, with a view to promote in particular children’s and youth theatre and mainstream theatre in Sri Lanka.

The organisation has emerged as one of the leading training centres for performing artistes particularly in Children’s theatre. With many years of experience in the field of Children’s and Youth theatre, the LCYTO is currently the undisputed leader in Sri Lanka in Youth Theatre.

The high standard in their theatre productions has been internationally recognised and held many performances in many international Children’s and Youth Theatre Festivals and conferences in countries like Bangladesh (in 1997), India (in 2001), Australia (in 2001), France (in 2002), The Netherlands (in 2002), and Korea (in 2002).