Kuveni’s song flows across time

A review of the play Kuveni:

by Dilshan Boange

On the 14th of August at the Punchi Theatre the operatic stage play Kuveni written by the late great veteran of the Sinhala theatre Henry Jayasena, came alive on the boards as a directorial work of Samudra Jeevani Karunananda. Kuveni unfolds as a stage drama that delivers a dose of classicism mixed with a modern facet of storytelling through the medium of theatre. This is not a play in the genre of ‘a Sarachchandra classic’, but nevertheless does qualify to be a classic of Sinhala theatre.

Shedding light on the past

As one watches how a shotgun-bearing hunter comes upon a young man and a young woman in a forest, who claim they are waiting for the return of their mother ‘Kuveni’ the play evinces its modern approach to a tale steeped in legend and lore as much as it is established through historical textual discourse as narrated in the Mahavamsa -‘The Great Chronicle’ the book that charts the historical roots of the Sinhala race and the monarchical lineages that ruled Sri Lanka.

The hunter wonders whether he sees apparitions, if he is dreaming and wonders if he is in a conflux between reality and illusion, the past and the present, legend and fact. More than a surrealist strict approach, there is in this narrative an application of symbolism that gives life to a contemporary reappraisal of history as an authority based on text(s).

Through the song and dialogue part of the politics of the play speaks of shedding light on a past that is ‘shrouded in darkness’. To this effect a symbolism is built in the choreography with a dance act where dancers bear flashlights and cast the beams at the surrounding darkness as they perform. To cast the light beams on the audience that is shrouded by the gentle darkness may be thought of as the past (the players) trying to kindle some channel for the present (the audience) to gaze at a mystery from ancient times that needs to be demystified and put to rest.

The curse of Kuveni

Mention must be made of how the ‘curse of Kuveni’ was performed through song and dance creating an especially significant and captivating element. This is a work of theatre where song, dance and dialogue all play with interwoven significance in bringing out a story with a political statement through creative expression befitting theatre.

The plight of Kuveni as a woman scorned and demeaned, as oppressed and betrayed, is said to be seen throughout the ages, throughout humankind, in every woman who suffers the agony that Kuveni was subject to because she was a woman who had no shelter or salvation in a world shaped by male dominance. It is also a tale about reaching inwards for the truth about love as felt by a woman and almost asserts that a woman is near capable of unconditional love and forgiveness. I would say when looking at the overall schema of the play, in terms of its gender politics, Kuveni doesn’t seem to carry a patently pronounced vein of a feminist play, but speaks more on the basis of a humanistic appeal to accept the wrong done the historical character of Kuveni through history.

The original sin

When looking at the story of Kuveni as narrated in the Mahavamsa, one may ask if Kuveni’s act of betraying her people to side with Prince Vijaya was ‘the original sin’ in terms of our own history and lore? And was the treachery that was in turn done her by her consort – Prince Vijaya an act that we as a people are still haunted by in our psyche together with the curse and lament of Kuveni? If we as a nation claim a collective conscience are we haunted by the injustice done to her? And lest we forget, are we shaken by the painful harm done to Jeewahaththa and Disala? This play thus brings to the audience an inquiry about what needs to be reconciled with a past that ripples with woes of a betrayed woman and her paternally disowned children.

The twins Jeewahaththa and Disala (the progeny of Prince Vijaya and Kuveni) were characterised in a manner that truly evoked my empathy. Their unending eternal wait with boundless patience shows the depth and integrity of their filial love for their mother and the sanctity with which they hold her promise given them of her return after going to seek forgiveness from her people whom she wronged. The two children symbolize the innocence and purity of the hearts and souls of those who have not been touched by the politics of man and the State, and dwelling in the bosom of nature. The fact that they desire to remain as forest dwellers, and become ‘aadi vaasis’ (aborigines) and not become ‘people’ speaks of the politics that relate to very different outlooks on what constitutes ‘goodness’.

The actors were compelling and the chorus was impactful. The costumes and dances were appealing. The storyline is built on an innovative concept delivered through a compelling script. Kuveni is a very powerful play. It is with pleasure that I offer my heartfelt applause to a great performance of a Sinhala stage play celebrated in the sphere of theatre in Sri Lanka.