Glimpse into the life and times of Henry Jayasena:

Azdak of Sinhala theatre leaves the stage

by Indeewara THILAKARATHNE

Henry Jayasena, Manel and their son Sudaraka

Henry Jayasena and Manel on their wedding day

"For some of us who have been around from the very beginning, 25 years ago, such as Manel (Henry's wife), Warakagoda, Santin, Gunie, Nimal, Yasie, Fitzrony, Chula Piysekara and H.L.P and myself. It has been a part of our very lives and I am sure each of us will have many moments of joy, sorrow and anxiety to remember ..." Henry Jayasena on the 25th years of staging his brilliant adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle or 'Hunuwataye Kathawa'.

Perhaps, 'Hunuwataye Kathawa' and his immortal role as Azdak not only marked an important milestone in the trailblazing career of Henry Jayasena who breathed his last after a brief illness but also marked a watershed in the Sinhala theatre. Henry Jayasena represented a vanishing tribe of bilinguals who had been evolved in the 1950s and 1970s under the overarching influence of the Peradeniya School. In fact, his first ever appearance on the stage was at the Open Air Theatre of the University of Peradeniya, in Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra's 'Maname' as the Prince of 'Maname.

Although his earlier plays such as 'Pavu karayo' which was produced in 1959 met with brickbats, subsequent productions such as 'Kuveni' (1963), 'Hunuwataye Kathawa' (1969), 'Tawath Udesanak', 'Apata Puthe Magak Nethe' (1968), 'Diriya Mawa saha age daruwo' (1972), 'Makara' (1974) 'Sarana Piyaapthse Puthuni Hamba yana' (1975) and 'Sirisangabo' (1978) earned a name for him and established himself as a major dramatist in Sinhala theatre. Apart from being a master producer of drama and actor, Henry Jayasena was a multi-faceted personality who had proved his mettle in diverse fields such as cinema and television as an actor. He was also brilliant as a bi-lingual writer.

One of his memorable roles in cinema was as Piyal in Dr. Lester James's 'Gamperaliya' which was recently restored and released in France as a commercial film. Henry himself considered his role as Piyal was one of the best performances in cinema. On Henry Jayasena's acting in 'Gamperaliya', Dr. Lester James Peries stated in "Lester by Lester as told to Kumar de Silva", "Even Henry Jayasena had hardly acted before and was thinking in terms of the stage. As he said, he had acted in one commercial film when he came for Gamperaliya and was thus relatively unspoiled. This is not making any reflection on his subsequent career, but his performance in 'Gamperaliya' was so subtle and so quite that even he himself thought that he was better in other films where I personally think he was over acting". Among films he rendered his talents were 'Gahanu Gata', "Sri 296", "Sohoyuro", "Heta Pramada Vadei", "Wena Swargayak Kumatada" and "Sigiri Kashapa".

As all good writers are good readers, Henry Jayasena was a voracious reader who read books both in Sinhala and English. He was a writer who could only write if he had an impulse to do so. For instance, some of his dramas such as "Thawath Udasanak" were born out of a personal experience. The drama was based on a calf named Rabbada Aiyya. Henry was fond of the calf. However, when moved following the Second World War, Henry had to abandon the calf which subsequently he learnt died having fallen into an abandoned well. He wrote his autobiography entitled "Karaliyaka Kathawak" and "Nim Neti Kathawak" which was a sequel to the "Minisun Vu Daruwo" which was written in the 60s.

Henry Janasena's larger than life shadow cast on the Sinhala theatre will remain as an enduring influence in years to come. However, his singular role as a master producer of drama and as a bilingual who brilliantly adapted several dramas including Caucasian Chalk Circle into Sinhala which stand the test of time owing to its rich language and metaphor should be judged against the backdrop of contemporary Sinhala theatre. The rich tradition of translations and adaptation in Sinhala theatre to which Henry Jayasena contributed to a great extent, is, unfortunately dying due to the dearth of competent translators.

Given the poor quality of most of the translations in Sinhala, it is highly unlikely masterpieces such as 'Hunuwataye Kathawa' and 'Diriya mawa ha age daruwo', would ever emerge from contemporary Sinhala theatre. For instance 'Hunuwataye Kathawa' which was one time prescribed text for Advanced Level Sinhala is one of the masterpieces in Sinhala theatre albeit it is an adaptation. It is so rich and so aptly adapted into Sinhala that Grusha, the female lead in the play, the role continuously played by Henry Jayasena's wife Manel and Azdak which Henry Jayasena played over the years remain as major characters in Sinhala theatre. His play such as 'Diriya mawa ha age daruwo' which is the adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's "Mother Courage" has been and is still being a popular drama which captured the quintessential turbulent atmosphere of a war ravaged country.