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| Sunday, 03 August 2003 |
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The Lionel Wendt Theatre Festival : Wayside theatre steals the show by ANDREW FERNANDOPULLE When I talk of "the day of magic" at the Lionel Wendt, how many of us would have the courage and vision to think of a performance of non-formal theatre? To be exact of Gamini Hathtotuwegama's famed if not notorious wayside theatre? Whatever it is July 25 - the third day of the Wendt's 50th anniversary festival saw a veritable explosion of drama and song, as Gamini's wayside players turned it on and on. In a display lasting just over two hours they virtually redefined for the benefit of this leading theatre centre in Sri Lanka, so sadly out of touch with the most innovative and most radical developments of our whole theatre, the very concept and business of theatre. They showed us all how one could, using the simplest and barest of resources, the "purest", of human resources-face, voice, body, so on create the richest power-play imaginable. They demonstrated in an "ensemble of plays, dramatic scenes and songs" (as they called it) how the most vivacious and robust entertainment could go with a deep and abiding seriousness, they showed how riotous fun could graduate through outrageous and rebellious thought, to unnerving tragic experience. It was all in all the most refreshing thing that has happened at (and to) the Lionel Wendt in many decades. Power relations, violence in various forms confront us. The violence of the market in "Vesak Festival" where power relations are generated by consumerism. Violence in the culture of hospitality and home in that marvellously creative brecht parable "Marawara Mehewara" (where all "props and sets" are made solely of human bodies). The violence of media slogans in "Undata" - "Ammata" so... on. The program ends in a traumatic distilling of the history of terror - not only Sinhala - Tamil conflictwise but also Sinhala - Sinhala conflictwise. The most haunting and passionate lyrics hold on our feelings. Yes, the wayside theatre is so much aware of death. Nevertheless it's a life-affirming art. As they first come into the theatre, forming a trunk-swaying elephant with their actor bodies, and then as they pour their first song, the witty ambiguous ode to the bullet, they exude such "sheer joy of theatre as hardly any other troupe does". How they leap and dance and perform their songs is a treat to watch (though they may also falter on their melodic keys). Their trilingual Dylan ("Blowing in the Wind") has caught on. The "originals" are as entrancing as their transcreations. In their two last symbolic lyrics of hope and freedom, birds figure, much. A bird figures in their fine poetic mime "Cry Freedom" inspired by African liberation struggles. A bird of gold is addressed thematically in their original song. Yadam bindala gejj maama thanaganing Anga solawa aththatu tika hadaganing Ran Kurulo...// Their sense of comedy is brilliant, their sense of tragedy memorable. You'd go a long way to see their classic transcreation of Chekov's short story about the cabdriver who has lost his son and has nobody to tell it to. They make him a buggy-driver (in Matara?) for this cart they use just high stools. The wayside theatre transmutes the end beautifully to bring in a lst passenger whose wife is to give birth to their first child. This man in a genuine hurry to go to hospital, is the only one who ultimately does listen to the Carter's tale of woe. The carter identifies with the new father. Hathtotuwegama's triumph is not in the adroit "stage" tricks he used but in handling the tricky emotion. The Carter's passionate utterances are a classic model of de-sentimentalized but utterly moving utterance. Here what I felt was that Gamini Hathtotuwegama, senior drama lecturer in our campuses, senior workshop director in the bilingual theatre media that he is, is rapping the formal theatre and teledrama (Sinhala) on their sentimental melodramatic knuckles. It was Dr. A. J. Gunawardena who put a very high rating on such work - "One of the two best short dramas I've seen". Another "model" play in this grand non-formal repertoire is the one called "Ammat Undeta" What fine symphonic assortment of characters are brought together into "an asylum," each recording their recollections creating their little big worlds. It's a marvellous study of character - a virtuoso "voice-training" (tour de force and an "original" at that). While the wayside theatre basically relates to the larger audience of the Sinhala theatre it is a great national enterprise. It uses a little Tamil, some English too, but it can, through its force and imaginative brilliance, speak to a whole country. How sad that Colombo's audiences failed to take up the challenges thrown, how natural someone more than just a cynic - would say! Is it that the Lionel Wendt is no longer the focus of truly historic theatre experiences? Could we blame some of the poor houses attendant upon this jubilee festival on the shockingly bad publicity meted out by the organization? Is it that there is a growing lack of adventurousness on the part of its audiences, a desire to escape into comfort stations? Hence the most daring happenings, the most advanced developments, of the Theatre as a whole are missed out by its audiences. Could we blame it on the total breakdown of discriminating criticism in English as well? It's a shame that students of drama in the higher academic institutions, students in the higher forms of the Colombo schools missed this extremely rare opportunity to see the magic of this most powerful of theatres. I seriously doubt whether the wayside theatre, which has for long turned its back on such venues, would care to visit us again. The loss is ours, entirely. I hope my words here would be a tribute to a superbly trained, richly talented and a very highly committed troupe. ###### Chamber Music Concert A varied programme of classical music will be held at the Lionel Wendt auditorium on August 5, as part of the theatre's 50th anniversary celebrations. For this very special occasion, some well known artistes in classical music will perform an interesting programme of solos and chamber works combining the piano (Ramya de Livera Perera), violin (Ananda Dabare), cello (Dushy Perera) and clarinet (Ajith Abeyesekera). Works to be performed are mainly from the Romantic Period, linking music with poetry, fiction, philosophy and painting. With composers like Chopin and Glinka a further fertilization of nationalism evolved. Brahms Clarinet Trio is a fine example of the German influence during this period. The clarinet takes the place of the violin in this trio and the clever interweaving between piano, cello and clarinet is evident. The other chamber works will be by Glinka and Piazzolla. An interesting feature of the Piazzolla Trio is that it is written as a tango with a Latin American flavour. Piazzolla, an Argentinean composer was a piano accordionist who wrote tangos for a wide range of instruments. Glinka's 'Trio Pathetique' is an exquisite work, displaying the brilliance and virtuosic skills of the performers. The artistes will also play solo works on their respective instruments by Chopin, Tschaikovsky and Richard Strauss. ###### Mizo folk dance troupe to perform To celebrate the 56th anniversary of India's independence, a ten member folk dance troupe from Mizoram, India, will be visiting Sri Lanka from August 11-17 at the invitation of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The visit of the troupe is sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations under the Cultural Exchange Programme. The troupe will present a spectacular display of traditional folk dances from the state of Mizoram for the first time in Sri Lanka. Dr. H. Lalnunmawii, who has a number of performances to her credit, will lead the group of young and talented artistes. The performances, jointly organised by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Indian High Commission, can be seen in Colombo, Matale and Galle. The group will be performing in Colombo on August 14 at the Elphinstone Theatre. Minister of Shipping of India, and well-known film star Shatrughan Sinha, will be the guest of honour. The other performances will be held at Matale on August 12 and Galle on August 16. For invitations please contact: Indian Cultural Centre. |
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