'The Father' and the 'Ghosts' adopted for the Sinhala stage

'An actor is one who is made and not one who is born' should be the motto of the Sinhala theatre:

by Prof. Ariya Rajakaruna
 

Translated by Ranga Chandrarathne

Continued from 07/01/2007

A Critique on the State Sinhalese Drama Festival of 1966.

Prof. Osmond Jayaratne

Prof. Ashley Halpe

Wijeratne Warakagoda

(This is a translation of a critique by Prof. Ariya Rajakaruna. He served as the Head of the Department of Sinhala of the University of Peradeniya. He is currently a visiting lecturer attached to the Departments of Fine Arts and Sinhala. This is the only comprehensive review written on any State Sinhala Drama Festival held during the last five decades. This review was first published in 1967. This critique has been translated for the first time.)

The Swedish dramatist, August Strindberg's (1849-1912) tragedy 'The Father' (1887) was adapted into Sinhala theatre as 'Ammai Appai' by Premaranjith Thilakaratne. Considering the original plot, the title 'Ammai Appai' doesn't seem to be an appropriate title for the drama.

Strindberg was an author who explored the human subconscience like Dostoevsky. His 'The Father' is a play with psychological worth. 'The Father' is a dramatisation of a story of a father who rose against his wife's dominance and ultimately destroyed, owing to the doubt over child's genuine father.

The nature of the characters depicted in 'Ammai Appai' are common in any society. However, the way in which the incidents tied to one another seems to give the drama a foreign outlook. Such characters, incidents and situations which spring from Sri Lankan society would take a different shape.

In an adaptation, when the story is not adapted to suit the every aspect of Sri Lankan life, it would not be trustworthy in the eyes of the audience. Then the audience cannot go through the experiences depicted in the play and the audience cannot completely enjoy such a drama.

Gamini Wickremasuriya

Felix Premawardene

There are pros and cons in 'Ammai Appai'. Considering the selection of Strindberg's 'The Father' for adaptation, Premaranjith Thilakaratne has shown that he is a dramatist with an understanding of foreign dramas that could be well suited to the conditions of Sri Lankan life.

However, there were some defects in terms of the production. The Captain in the original drama dies on the chair he sat on, falling onto the nurse's lap. In the Sinhala drama, Ralahami falls down and dies upon the stage. Owing to such changes, this subtle dramatic situation turns to a coarse situation.

At the end due to Ralahami's (Felix Premawardena) provocative acting, 'Ammai Appai' assumes the nature of an emotionally charged drama. The music derived from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ('Hansavila') and Beethoven's '9th symphony 'rendered no meaning to the drama.

Felix Premawardena as Ralahamy had to play a difficult part in the drama. Such a character is an extremely difficult character that any actor finds difficult to portray successfully. There were many instances where Ralahamy's character is portrayed without any discipline.

Soma Kiriella

Chandra Kaluarachchi

However, Felix shows some talents in acting. Osmond Jayaratne, who played Captain's role in Ashley Halpe's 'The Father'(English production) in the English theatre, could portray the part skilfully.

Even in Halpe's drama, Osmond Jayaratne had not portrayed the last act, the death of Ralahami on the stage, convincingly.

Felix Premawardena is one of the talented actors in the Sinhala theatre. However, no producer still could get the maximum performance out of Premawardena. Chandra Kaluarachchi as Manike has not shown special aptitude in acting. Elson Divithurugama as teacher, some times, acted naturally.

Wijeratna Warakagoda as Doctor tried hard to escape from his monotonous acting. His static facial expressions seem to be an obstacle to expressing diverse emotions.

Norwegian dramatist, Henrick Ibsen's (1828-1906) 'Ghosts' (1881) has been staged as 'Hevaneli' in the Sinhala theatre by Gamini Wickremesuriya. This drama is an adaptation in the nature of a translation.

Even here, this factor, which has effectively weakened almost all the adaptations, has come to the fore. Ibson's 'Ghosts' is a social drama produced in conformity with the Aristotalian concept of 'Unity of Action'. The action of the drama is confined to a room and a few hours. Ibson has made use of the 'Retrospective analysis' norm in scriptwriting, the drama as history is revealed with the evolution of scenes on the stage. Ibson's 'Ghosts' reminds us of Sophocles's 'King Oedipus'.

The 'Ghosts' is based on a story which dramatized the fact, that marriage owning to social factors though in compliance with religion and moral of the society, would bring about untold hardships on the children.

Though, such a drama could have been well adapted into Sri Lankan theatre, it would not be compatible with Sri Lankan society unless the characters and incidents in the original text are not changed. Justin (Douglas Karunaratne), Karunawathi (Monika Weerasinghe), Simiyon (Buddhi Wickrema), Madugaswala Hamine (Soma Kiriella) and Akurana Bandara (Gamini Wijesuriya) have failed to portray themselves as characters naturally sprung from Sri Lankan society.

Madugaswala Hamine constructing an orphanage, concealing the sordid character of her deceased husband, sending her son abroad, his arrival in Sri Lanka to participate in the opening of the orphanage, orphanage destroyed in a sudden surge of fire, son's attempt to marry the domestic aid, son suffering from a critical illness and mother helping to cure the ailment have not been performed convincingly.

These incongruities should have been avoided if the drama was a translation.

Douglas Karunaratne's acting as Justin was very weak. Gamini Wijesuriya who portrayed the character of Akurana Bandara was also not outstanding. Soma Kiriella, though physically fitted into the role of Madugaswala Hamine, failed to depict complex dramatic situations. Gamini Wickremasuriya was also not talented enough in almost every aspects of production.

(To be continued)