Diversity abounds in unbound discoveries

by Dilshan BOANGE

The second Colombo International Theatre Festival is gradually drawing closer with the hope of drawing theatre lovers in Sri Lanka to experience a diverse array of foreign theatre performances which will no doubt be a vibrant collage on the cultural events landscape this year.

Parakrama Niriella

According to the director of the festival M.Safeer, the event’s impact is envisioned at kindling theatre to reach new heights progressively in our country. The more closed knowledge and limited exposure to theatre among our present day youth is hoped to be opened to better the knowledge and exposure about theatre they have through the festival. Gaining overseas assistance for theatre projects in the future is also one of the envisioned goals of this festival.

Set to run from March 28 to April 4 at the auditorium of British School in Colombo the festival will have the performances from the following countries: Nepal, India, Austria, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and also Sri Lanka.

The diversity seen will not be only in the nationalities and cultural essences that form the expressionisms of the players but also the theatre forms and stagecraft that will unfold on the boards at the festival venue. The assemblages and constitutions of the productions will no doubt present a wide variety to the theatregoers here seeing as how the festival is not about putting on performances that are of the usual conventional theatre styles that are seen in general.

Theatre is a mode of communication and what ‘knowledge’ it communicates depends on what is at the root of the work, the cultural and political factors that have shaped it. On this line of thought the performance from Austria titled in English as Zheng He When the Dragon Ships Came seems to be one where much historical knowledge which appears to have been underplayed by the Western discourse of history, is brought to prominence that could very well reshape our outlook about naval history of the world. Directed by Karin Schafer this performance is to be an innovative theatrical narrative about the great Chinese explorer Zheng He.

The production to be presented by the Mandala Theatre Group of Nepal Miss Margarida’s Way is one that will test the limits of an audience’s tolerability to the ‘dictates from the stage’ one may say.

The play Cafila is one that contests the ideas of national borders and identities formed on religion and ethnicity which will surely hit a very strong note on issues facing the situation between India and Pakistan.

One of the two Sri Lankan productions is by M. Safeer’s theatre group Inter Act Art which will be actually a joint work with the Flame School of Performing Arts in India titled Knotted Ropes, which is a work of experimental theatre.

The other is by the Janakaraliya theatre group directed by Parakrama Nirielle titled Disaster Market.

A very timely ecologically sound wildlife conservation conscious message is at the heart of the Indian production titled The Last Colour which is about the alarming situation of the tiger as an endangered species. Chaos and communication in the mindset of an artist is what creates the essence of the Azerbaijani play Contrabas. Based much on the aspects of body language and movement the entry from Saudi Arabia is titled Maestro. The Egyptian entry to the festival is titled Presence which has at its base the journey of man from the point of Adam and Eve.

Karin Schaefer

Shovgi Huseynov

The assembly of diverse talents and expressions as well as cultural knowledge to form a celebration of theatre from different corners of the globe which speaks in a language that unfolds in the nature of live human performance will surely generate much discussion amongst theatre lovers in Sri Lanka. The remarkable degree of cultural variety of the second Colombo International Theatre Festival is sure to be a feast that proves itself to be ‘diversity abound, discoveries unbound’.

Just as much as theatre lovers in Sri Lanka are eagerly awaiting to experience this mosaic of theatrical diversity of cultural expositions unfold the overseas participants too no doubt have much on their minds about coming to perform in our country and showcasing their artistry of the stage. What could their sentiments be about performing in a country like ours where the climates have dawned new hues to the landscapes we inhabit? What significance do they see in the whole endeavour of this festival? And what messages do they have to share with Sri Lankans in relation to their respective works which will come alive at the festival?

Two of the directors of the overseas entries to the festival expressed these sentiments:

Karin Schaefer

Performing Zheng He- when the dragon ships came in Sri Lanka is very special for us, since the Admiral Zheng He’s first expedition in 1405-1407 led to Sri Lanka and to India. Our visual theatre play relates the adventures of the Chinese explorer through the narration of the people who met him, through a scholar from Arabia, an African fisherman and a business-woman from Siam - each of the characters speaking in their native language.

Sri Lanka always had a key strategic importance through its geographic location - that certainly imprinted on its identity and history. It is very exciting for us to come here since we are extremely keen to get to know more about the country and learn new facts about its population and customs. Indeed, we know quite little about what is currently happening in the politics of Sri Lanka, we want to take our time to discover as much as possible some aspects of the new era of history Sri Lanka has come to.

Therefore we are very grateful and happy to have been invited to the Colombo International Theatre Festival, which we find very important as it fosters international exchange and communication and supports theatre as a way of rethinking society and the world. In a time of change, many forget that it is art, who can help restructuring minds and customs and enable new thinking.

Shovgi Huseynov

With Sri Lanka in the first place to come to mind is a beautiful island located in the Indian Ocean, there are from all over the world come to the tourists. Sri Lanka, a country that is different from other countries for its amazing flora and fauna. I know that Sri Lanka is the third highest in the world in the production of tea. I think our visit to Sri Lanka will help us to learn more about your country and culture.

Any theatre festival serves to the development of theatrical art. I think the international theater festival held in this sense, you are no exception. Festivals winners or losers do not exist, there is only winning his majesty theater. Colombo International Theatre Festival is another opportunity to promote the new field of Azerbaijan Theater. And I thank you in advance to you for what you have given us this opportunity. Apart from the overseas participants the festival will also feature a work directed by one of Sri Lanka’s veterans in drama Parakrama Niriella. He has expressed his sentiments about taking part in this endeavour with the following message:

Parakrama Niriella

Whenever I visit abroad I have a habit of watching dramas of any country. Although the entrance ticket costs are generally very high in these countries I don’t hesitate to spend my food allowances liberally to watch dramas. There were times I stayed hungry in order to watch dramas. Also, as a tradition, I participate at the annual international drama festivals of New Delhi and Kerala.

The boundless craving in me to study and enjoy drama and theatre has evoked such a tendency in me. Not only that, I do urge and inspire my students and apprentices also for this (watching international dramas) and take them to watch foreign drama festivals somehow managing to find the basic expenditure required for such ventures. I do this because I know that research and exploration, learning and revision and also the continuous creative exercises nurture creativity in an artist.

Creativity in the drama and theatre arts fields of most of other countries is very important for us. New tendencies, novel findings, different performing methods in these dramas cannot be found within this island nation of ours. They cannot be studied correctly or properly through either the internet or the face book. I trust that it is the reason for the stagnation of our dramas and also getting constrained by the proscenium theatre frame. Our drama field is not affected or nurtured by the changes taken place in different communities through globalization.

Under the circumstances the archaic, old-fashioned and impracticable scholars, university lecturers, and school teachers are not only getting caged by the conventional theories of drama and theatre arts but also trying to detain the creative and skilled future generations also within these limitations. That is why we cannot see any noteworthy improvement or development in the Sri Lankan Drama Field in spite of many have studied drama and theatre arts and graduated from our universities.

As such our country is in need of a methodology that can feel and grasp the movements or motions of the universal drama and theatre for the benefit of the people engaged in drama and theatre as well as for the people who are studying it. The InteractArt institute led by M.Saffeer is trying to hold an international drama festival in our country in such a background. There are abundant benefits from an international drama festival held in our country in addition to the experiences and knowledge gained by participating in such a festival held in our country rather than going to an international drama festival in some other country. One of the most important facts is opening doors to the world for up-and-coming dramatists of our country capable of being in par with international creations.

The other major benefit is boosting the tourism industry through events such as this. It is also possible to show case our modern and traditional drama and arts through an international festival of this nature. It will also be a valuable cultural activity that will bring fame and honour for the country. That is why the government of India is spending millions of rupees to hold the New Delhi International Drama Festival annually.

Kerala, a provincial state of India and considered as a paradise for scholars, is conducting an annual drama festival due to the same reasons. Saffeer and his team are endeavouring to accomplish a similar activity that should be handled by the government of Sri Lanka. I will support it with my whole capacity. In the mean time I appeal to the persons, institutions or organisations desirous to see the augmentation of a creative future generation in our country to support this excellent pioneering endeavour.