Much to ponder over

by Sajitha PREMATUNGE

Anyone who consider themselves a patriot would have second thoughts about acknowledging the originality of the play. As have I. Upon first reading, it could strike one as an 'unpatriotic play'. This is especially ironical for a play that attempts to define a patriot. So why this interview? Because stripped of its political ideology, the play certainly deserves the Gratiaen it received in 2005. Whatever political ideologies one may harbour Thicker than blood by Delon Weerasinghe is a play that should be appreciated for its portray of real people in difficult situations, faced with difficult decisions.

Delon Weerasinghe went to S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia and has written professionally for stage, print, screen, web as well as radio. He has written commissioned work for The Royal Court Theatre in London and BBC World Service Radio. Although he is best known as a playwright, he is also a director, fixer and a film maker his high calibre clients include BBC, NBC, CBS, ITV and Channel 4. He wrote and directed his first short film "Hide & Seek" in 2003. He has contributed to local as well as international print media over the years. He claims he never expected the Gratiaen. There were 56 entries that year, the most ever. Due to unavoidable circumstances he could not read the play at the short listing ceremony. "There was very little focus on the Gratiaen. Even towards the very end. I didn't even have my speech ready. He claimed that the Gratiaen was sort of validation of his work.

Too strong

Although he claims that this is the only play he has written to completion. Thicker than blood was originally a play for school. "It was considered too strong for a school performance" he says. It was originally a two-scene play between an old man and a soldier, which he then sent to a competition held by the British council. He ended up not only winning the competition but also a scholarship to Bangalore. "I was more interested in the other play but I sent for the competition, but they were more interested in this particular play and thought I should work on it. The Royal Court Theatre provided me with a director and five actors. The fact that you have a director and five actors made a huge difference."

Going back to my initial displeasure at reading the play I could not help but ask him whether the play reflected his own opinions. In answer he claimed that it is almost impossible to write something that doesn't comes from within. But said that his opinions of war have undergone a great deal of change since he wrote the play.

The play was written over such a long period of time that his opinions changed along the way. For instance, he explained that he wrote the scenes between the old man and the soldier when he was just 16. "That's why they depict the naivete of a 16 year old." The family scenes are more mature. So it does not necessarily reflect his own opinions. "However I believe that one who accepts everything without questioning is not a patriot but an idiot."

In spite of the grim subjects he deals with Delon always manages to squeeze in a bit of humour. He believes that humour is very important for whatever genre, specially in drama. "When you look around, you have to be either totally frustrated or amused. Although in some cases there is nothing funny about it, there is humour in it the way you look at it." It's how you make drama watchable, he explained.

Cynicism

But the most prominent element that runs through out the play is the apparent cynicism of the playwright. However Delon explained that his cynicism made the characters unrealistic nobody would like it. But if he made it plausible it just reflects the way someone looks at a certain situation. "Cynicism is suspicion at regarding some situation, it should be realistic."

But despite his cynicism he seems to have much respect for the soldier. "It's definitely tough to be a soldier. Decisions are made for them that's why their morals were down." But he believes that mistakes have been learnt from. "This is being done now, but it could have been done earlier."

However he claims that war and politics is not at all what Thicker than blood is about. It's about personal choices, personal integrity, patriotism and sometimes strained relationships in a time of war. It also deals with a number of issues and emotions, such as sexuality and estrangement. A lot of things are left unsaid in the play, but a lot is left for the reader or the watcher - for that matter - to ponder over.