A Dictator revived and enjoyed

A review of the drama 'The Dictator':

by Dilshan Boange

Vintage stage plays of the Ceylonese English comedy genre must not fade to static antiquity as outdated scripts. Veteran dramatist and actor Namel Weeramuni and the 'Namel Malini Punchi Theatre' must be applauded wholeheartedly for bringing to life the classic Ceylonese play 'The Dictator' by playwright H.C.N de Lanerolle. This production had a show run of 6 days from October 20 to 25 at the Punchi Theatre in Colombo.

The costumes and stage set design was very masterfully done and deserves praise and resounding applause. The production was very eye catching and visually delightful. The only snag was that the bottle from which the protagonist poured his dark 'local liquor' was a bottle of 'Absolut Vodka'. An old bottle of arrack would have unquestionably served the purpose best.

The talent on stage on closing night must be noted had the benefit of veterans like Wijerathne Warakagoda, Daya Tennekoon and Malini Weeramuni alongside debutantes to the Sri Lankan stage -Pinnya Samarathunga, Prabath Devindra, Purnima Pilapitiya and Pradeep Kumara. It would be untrue to say that there was perfect symmetry of acting talents forming the fabric of performance, but it must be stated that the overall casting was done well and every player delivered his/her character commendably to contribute towards achieving a successful performance. In this light, the director Namel Weeramuni must be congratulated along with his cast.

The story is set in the backdrop of World War II when the threat of a Japanese invasion loomed large in the minds of the people as well as the British colonial administration. The protagonist is Nanayakkara Mudiyanselage Brumpy Gunadasa, a local official generally known as 'Ralahamy'. A man steadfast in the old ways and unshakably confident in the strengths of his native intelligence, Ralahamy declares that he is more than able to offer military strategies to the Allied Forces to defeat the Axis Powers. The action gets into gear when Ralahamy is declared 'the Dictator of Ceylon' to ensure a full proof plan for national defence is implemented under his infallible command. What happens afterwards spurs a riot of laughter as the most unorthodox, yet superlatively effective methods for combating the threat of the invading 'Japs' and paving the way for resurgence of Sri Lankan greatness is gradually revealed and put into effect.

Misplacing English words

Enunciating 'fiascos' for 'frescoes' and 'stimulation' for 'emulation' and 'impotent' for 'important', this play, like the classic Ceylonese drama, 'Well Mudaliyar, how?' plays partly on the hilarity engendered through mishearing, misunderstanding and misplacing English words. And when you really look at who is being laughed at for getting 'his English wrong' we see in the veins of these kinds of plays the colonial mindset at play. The late H.C.N de Lanerolle as a playwright has deftly captured the very pulse of an era of colonial thinking while offering a subtext of critique that has greater value to the post independence generations who are believed to be a 'postcolonial people'.

In studying this play one must note that inscribed in Ralahamy's character is a message about how the old Sinhala leaders showed deference to, with firm conviction in, the beliefs and systems of our forefathers and the heritage of traditional knowledge. And that a true son of the soil will not succumb to the colonial ploy of vilifying and ridiculing our heritage of the 'occult' as rustic ritualism with no basis of 'scientific merit' and unworthy of serious consideration. It is I believe in this age of 'post-colonial enlightenment' much food for thought. Comedy is a very effective weapon of oppression when devised to demean and vilify that which must be dismissed as 'laughable' due to being 'nonsensical'.

When Ralahamy explains his 'secret weapon' to disarm the infantry of the Japanese imperial army, I could not help recall what I had read about the 'The Battle of Pelusium' (525 B.C), where the armies of the Achaemenid Empire defeated the armies of the Pharaoh of Egypt by devising tactics that exploited the religious beliefs of the Egyptians. And any patriotic solider of the Japanese imperial army will surely desist for at least a moment before firing at an image of their divine emperor! Between the laughs that spiral from that juncture in the drama let us be conscious that Ralahamy's 'secret weapon' isn't completely void of military tactical merit.

Anti-colonial patriot

When at the end Ralahamy awakens to reality it seems to suggest that aspirations of the anti-colonial patriotic likes of Ralahamy are fated to be no more than daydreams and not materialise to fruition in the real world. There is truth to a certain extent on this line of criticism since even now after independence the international system of commerce and industry dictates we still remain in a neo-colonial predicament. And one must note that at the point where Ralahamy is stabbed by a knife-wielding assassin after his rousing speech of ardent patriotic fervour to return to a way of life advocated by our forefathers, the play issues what is most possibly its most significant warning as to what could befall any genuine 'native statesmanship' that rejects the westernisation of our country. If one in this day and age cares to look beyond the screen of laughter, the truth is that as a patriotic people our ancestors were in fact stabbed to silence in more than one way.

In this day and age, when western liberal thought is all the vogue and rage among most of the English speaking urban middleclass I wonder if this play might even seem 'reactionary' to some. After all there is today an unfair penchant among some to decry any exaltation of the merits of our olden national heritage ascribed to the glory of our ancient 'Sinhala kings' as reflective of a 'racist' mindset. Whatever the divide may be on the debate, watching 'The Dictator' with an open mind is, I believe, salutary to grasp the deeper message for the need for anti-colonial, national mindedness if we as a people are not to be eternally under the yoke of western dictatorships.

I hope this successful play will return to the boards for another run soon to delight theatregoers. It is a play for the whole family and this genre of plays -'Ceylonese classics' must not be missed by the present generation. The whole team behind this production deserve a round of applause. Some of the notable offstage credits are Senaka de Silva (Costumes), Buddhi Galappaththi (Make-up), Lal Harendranath (Set), Jayathissa Alahakoon (Music), and Prabath Manohara (Lighting). I say decidedly 'The Dictator' is a play all Sri Lankans should watch, and say so with pleasure in this review, which is incidentally my fiftieth drama review.