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| Wednesday, 22 September 2004 |
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Rag Original musical with a powerful message Jehan Aloysius and his theatre troupe, CentreStage Productions, are now working on one of their most ambitious projects - an original musical, titled 'Rag', which will be previewed at company's CentreStage Festival on the 25th and 26th of September at the Punchi Theatre, Borella. Rag, which has been in the works for almost a decade, brings together the superlative creative talents of Jehan Aloysius, Avanti Perera and Deshan Cooray.
Jehan Aloysius, who has directed and performed in major musicals has composed the music and directed the choreography, while Avanti Perera's experience in the Symphony Orchestra has contributed to the intricate orchestrations that have enhanced the score. The choral direction is by Deshan Cooray of the Old Joe's Choir, who also worked with Jehan on his spectacular production of the biblical epic The Prince of Egypt. Being an extremely dynamic theatre troupe that produces quality original plays for the English theatre, CentreStage Productions presents The CentreStage Festival in order to celebrate their third anniversary by initiating a new theatre tradition to Sri Lanka. The troupe hopes to use the festival as a platform where original dramatic works and works-in-progress can be presented to an audience. Aloysius explains that this concept of the festival is to create a forum for discussing new works and to encourage feedback from academics, thespians and supporters of the Arts. He believes that audiences need to play a part in the creation of new works, which will nourish dramatic literature in Sri Lanka. The result would be quality productions that have been thought out, workshopped and reworked before ultimately being presented onstage. Melodies The premier CentreStage Festival features a dramatised and choreographed selection from the troupe's major work-in-progress, the original musical Rag. The musical was conceptualised by Jehan in 1998 and revised in 2001, however the melodies had been in Jehan's mind for several years before.
With the final draft complete, Avanti Perera was requested to join as the orchestrator, and later took on the role of performing the pieces on the equipment specially flown down from the US. The partnership between Avanti and Jehan was important in bringing out the varied musical requirements of the Rag. Deshan Cooray was next invited to join the team early this year, to handle the choral arrangements and direct the extremely talented Old Joe's Choir. The lead roles of Rag have been taken on by prominent singers who have made a name for themselves in musical theatre such as Dushyanth Weeraman (Guttila), Anjuli Gunaratne (Mary Anne Singers), Samantha Ferdinand, Shanaka Cooray (Old Joe's Choir), Ruveen Dias (Bengal Bungalow) as well as Jehan Aloysius. The ensemble will comprise The Old Joe's Choir and talented newcomers. This tragic musical seeks to objectively interrogate the phenomenon of ragging and violence in local universities. The plot follows Joe, a regular 'Colombo boy' with strong ideals and a major dream to change the system of initiation in academic institutions. A true idealist, he seeks to end war with 'words' not 'violence'. Needless to say, this young man has to savour the bitter flavour of realism when he enters the gates of the university. The past, in the form of his childhood soul-mate Peter, emerges with a vengeance as a senior out to fulfil a personal vendetta against the hapless Joe. Relationships and cliques form as the 'freshers' (undergrads) settle into the new social unit of university life and its politics. Soon, even the peace-loving Joe is thrown unwittingly into the midst of campus politics as the anti-raggers and pro-raggers prepare to battle it out on the university grounds. The musical is a blend fact and fiction, and is presented using the techniques of musical comedy, though the main plot ends in violence and tragedy. The theme of Rag is an extremely timely one. Indeed, the play, which was completed in 1999, has proven to be uncannily prophetic foretelling events that took place several years after the play was written. Therefore, the company promises as exciting and thought provoking evening of song, dance and cutting edge drama. Theatre workshops CentreStage Productions has always endeavoured to produce and promote cutting-edge original theatre in Sri Lanka. In the process, the troupe has brought several issues centre-stage as well. The company regularly conducts theatre workshops with schools, theatre troupes and amateur dramatists both of the English and Sinhala theatre circles and have had the privilege of being the opening act at the premier StageRite Theatre Festival in Bangalore. This year alone, the theatre troupe performed the sell-out success, Bengal Bungalow, as well as their the critically acclaimed play, The Ritual, which has been performed in India, Colombo, Peradeniya and most recently in Jaffna. The performance on the 25th will be for exclusive invitees. However, CentreStage Productions promises theatre lovers a chance to experience the best of Rag on the 26th of September at 7.30 p.m. as the Punchi Theatre comes alive with the premier CentreStage Festival. The Main Sponsor of the festival is The British Council, that has generously come forward to support message of the play. A limited number of tickets for the 26th are now available at the Namel & Malini Punchi Theatre in Borella, so theatre lovers are advised to rush now to avoid disappointment. For ticket inquiries, call 2672121. **** Back **** |
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