Importance of 'Nattukari' to Sinhala theatre

The Sinhalese production of Jean Anouilh's 'Colombe' directed by veteran dramatist Namel Weeramuni was recently held at Punchi theatre in Borella. Since 'Nattukari' will go on the boards at Punchi theatre on October 23 as part of the seventh anniversary of Namel-Malini Punchi theatre, it is opportune to look at 'Nattukari' and its importance to contemporary Sinhala theatre as a master adaptation.

The revival of 'Nattukari' is important to Sinhala theatre on many accounts.

It is invariably an occasion to look at on the standard and the stature of Sinhalese adaptations in the contemporary Sinhala theatre against those which were produced in yesteryear or perhaps, in the era gone by. Since the advent of Nurti, dance plays which can be considered as the rudimentary form of present Sinhalese drama, Sinhala theatre had undergone many trials and tribulations. It has come out of John de Silva's era and entered into the era of revival in the post independent Sri Lanka. That period was marked by a series of adaptations like 'Kapuwa Kapothi', spearheaded by Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra in the heydays of the University of Peradeniya.

Peradeniya School has immensely contributed to the revival of Sinhala drama and to make modern Sinhala drama. Being both a student of Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra and the University of Peradeniya in that era which is now considered as the Golden era of the university, Namel Weeramuni would have come under the great influence of the tradition of high quality adaptations and translations particularly of Western plays into Sinhala.

First production of 'Nattukari'

The first production of the play was held on February 5, 6 and 10 in 1970 at the Havelock Town theatre which is now known as Lumbini theatre. The cast in the first production included Somalatha Subasinghe as Madam Alexandra, Upali Attanayake as Julien, Dhamma Jagoda, Namel Weeramuni, Wickrema Bogoda, and Prema Ganegoda. Subsequently the play was produced in London on October 2, 1976 at the Commonwealth Centre's theatre and also at Bernard Show theatre in the West End.

The first production of the play was by 'Apey Kattiya' and the music for the play was by maestro Premasiri Khemadasa.

The cast in the latest production include Sahan Ranwala as Julien, Surangi Kosala as Colombe, Malini Weeramuni as Madam Alexandra, Ruwan Wickremasinghe as Paul, Dipani de Silva as Joergi, Vishaka Jayaweera and Anusha Dissanayake, Daya Thennakoon as Surrette, Senet Dikkumbura as Robinet, Anil Wickremasinghe as Lardgete and Senaviratne as Defonatte. The music is by Jayatissa Alahakoon.

Namel as translator par excellence

Namel Weeramuni translated the play from the Jean Anouilh's original text of the play 'Mademoiselle Colombe' produced in 1951. One of the significant aspects of the Sinhala translation of the play, is that its uncompromising loyalty to the original text and the use of colloquial idiom in Sinhala so as to make it a play of significant value in Sinhala. Namel Weeramuni, though known as a successful counsel in the UK, is also a brilliant translator whose works such as the translation of Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra's "Sinhabahu" the English Version and a pre production image (English Text and Critical Analysis of the Play) is considered as one of the best English translations of the play.

'Colombe' as a remarkable production

Jean Anouilh's 'Colombe' is set against the backdrop of the 19th century Paris. The action takes place in fin-de-siècle Parisian theatre where Madame Alexandra, a celebrated seven-times-married rival to Sarah Bernardt dominates the theatre.

A would-be musician Julien turns up at the theatre where his mother the famous actress and Grande dame Madame Alexandra is playing. Mother and son maintain rather estranged relationship largely due to their diverse philosophies of life. Though largely grown up and lived in theatre, Julien loathes the theatre as well as his seven-times-married mother who has a penchant for recalling her numerous love affairs. The son detests mother's way of life and accounts of her sexual exploits.

However, Julien faces an issue of taking up military duties as he has been called up for military service compelling him to seek his estranged mother's help to look after his wife Colombe and son. He realises that he has to leave his young wife Colombe and the baby. So he leaves Colombe and son with his mother who takes her daughter-in-law and makes her an accomplished actor. Eventually, Colombe learns to love theatre and discovers pleasures of the stage and life.

The play invokes a fascinating facet of the 19th century theatre and amorous dressing-room liaisons where eventually Colombe has to choose between the fake red velvet world of ovation and adoration and the reality of a rather dull marriage. Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (French pronunciation 23 June 1910 - 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist. His characters offer a dichotomy between idealism and realism. This is also present in 'Colombe'. It is a perpetual battle between idealism and realism against a society that is hostile to purity.One of the important aspects of the present production of the play is that it is a mark for its costumes and the attempt at creating the authentic 19th century ambience. However, the important fact, apart from its excellent costume and portrayal of characters, is the brilliant script. It is an undisputed fact that the outstanding success of the play is more or less dependent on the quality of the script which is the base of action. An important attribute of a good translation is that it should be true or faithful to the original work as well as it should also be linguistically sound in the host language. In other words, the translation should stand as an excellent piece of literature in the language into which it has been translated. The use of colloquial idiom and the metaphors associated with the host culture is important albeit the play depicts a society in a foreign soil. A number of Sinhalese translations and adaptations had been successful in breaking those inherent barriers of translations and adaptations. For instance, Henry Jayasena's 'Hunuwate Kathawa' which is the adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's 'Caucasian Chalk Circle' and Namel Weeramuni's 'Golu Birinda' which is adaptation of 'Dumb Wife' by Anatole France, are successful productions with all the attributes of excellent translations. It is not a coincidence that most of the successful playwrights who have also excelled at adaptations and translations are bilinguals and actors on their own right. Namel Weeramuni, who played a role of a son in Prof. Ediriweera Sarachandra's production 'Rattaran', has portrayed diverse characters on the stage as well as on the silver screen. He played diverse characters in a number of films such as Wasantha Obeysekara's 'Wesgatto', 'Valmatuwo', Titus Totawatte's 'Hara Lakshaya' and 'Sihasuna', Sena Samarasinghe's 'Sadahatama Oba Mage' and 'Kasthuri Suwada'.

An object lesson

'Nattukkari' is an object lesson for aspiring playwrights and those who are in the field especially given scores of adaptations and translations which are of inferior quality. What is important in the present context for dramatist and playwrights is to learn from master productions like 'Nattukkari'.

'Nattukkari' is one of the rare translations which is remarkable, among other things, for its rich language laced with idioms which are essentially ours.