Sekara's poetry in motion:

Mano sets the stage

ALL of you have heard about veteran artist Mahagamasekera who excelled in many artistic fields. He was specially famed as a poet.

Think for a moment what kind of experience it would be if all his poems were brought together and presented to the audience as a drama making the characters of those poetry collections come alive.

This is really what veteran dramatist Jayalath Manoratne is trying to do in a few weeks. He is busy rehearsing his latest drama "Lokaya Thani Yayak."

After nearly five years since his last play - Kaneru Mal - which gained much response from the audience and critics, Mano will come up with this new play on December 22.

"This new play is described as a Ranga Kawayak (a Musical Poem) and is based on the poems of veteran poet Mahagamasekera who rendered a yeoman service to the arts," Mano explains. He himself wrote the script.

He says the drama is lined out taking dramatic scenes from each poetry collection compiled by Mahagamasekera.

"I have taken scenes from Mahagamasekera's poetry collections which include Prabudda, Bodima,, Mak Nisada Yat, Nomiyemi etc. I believe that this is the first time this kind of play is presented."

"I selected these poems because they have a socialist thinking which is close to Buddhism. This vision has a contemporary value too."

Mano says he always wanted to do a drama containing music and dancing. "Most drama - these days contains dialogue. But in this drama, we can enjoy the Sekera's poems which are very amusing and entertaining. I believe the audience would love this play."

The play's music has been composed by Navaratne Gamage while dancing has choreographed by Ravi Bandu Vidyapathi.

Mano says although Mahagamasekera died in 1976, the void remains to date. No one will be able to fill it. "We have to preserve his creations and that compelled me to bring this drama."

He lamented that nowadays, literature is gradually drifting away from the stage. "These days what we find on the stage are translations, adaptations and acting exercises. Literary taste, music and dancing are no longer there. We have to present these things to our audience."

Besides, Mano believes that the drama runs a deep theme which is important for the present society too. "Lokaya Thai Yayak (World is a single entity), the name itself gives the impression that everyone is this world are equal and we all are alike."

However, Mano sounded a bit critical about the present position of the stage dramas. "In 1960s and 70s, we had a better audience which mainly consisted of the middle class and after 1977 with the open economy this situation deteriorated and low-quality dramas telecast over television further ruined the field."

He said state patronage is necessary to take drama into villages. "The Government must effectively extend support to improve infrastructure for setting stage plays. More theatres needs to be constructed outside Colombo."

He said at the same time, tax concessions should be extended for equipment such as lighting which are required to ensure a better presentation to the audience. Also, transport facilities for drama casts should be provided at a concessionary rates so that more shows could be organised in remote areas.

The cast comprises Mali Jayaweerage, Chandrasoma Binduhewa, Dayadewa Edirisinghe, Madani Malwatta and also students from Aesthetic University.

The play is produced by the Peradeniya University's Alumni Association (Colombo Branch) who are contemporaries of Mano.

Memoirs of a Geisha:

Premieres in Japan amid controversy

SOME of Asia's top film talent turned out for the eagerly awaited world premiere of the Hollywood movie based on US best-seller "Memoirs of a Geisha" at a Tokyo sumo stadium Tuesday.

The movie, which is being released in Japan as "Sayuri", has been years in the making and boasts a star-studded Asian cast including Chinese actresses Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li alongside Malaysia's Michelle Yeoh.

However, the curtain rose amid lingering controversy over the fact that, despite being about the demure traditional Japanese artist-entertainers, the main geisha roles all went to stars from China or Malaysia.

Zhang has also come in for criticism at home for taking a role in a film about China's former occupier but she said she had no regrets.

"It was a special experience for me to have worked with so many Chinese and Japanese actors," she told an audience of over 2,000 who gathered at the stadium for the premiere, beneath portraits of past sumo greats.

"There were a lot of people's efforts behind the screens to make such a wonderful film," said Zhang, who left her traditional kimono at home to grace the red carpet in a pale yellow dress and black top.

Director Rob Marshall told the audience making the film was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"I feel honored to have brought Arthur Golden's brilliant novel to screen. I'm honored to work with an extraordinary international cast," said Marshall, whose last film "Chicago" won six Oscars including best picture in 2003.

Ahead of the screening, Marshall admitted he was daunted by making a film based on Golden's hugely successful novel, which has sold more than four million copies in English and has been translated into 32 languages since it was published in 1997.

"It was wonderful and scary at the same time," Marshall told journalists. "I really wanted to honor the novel and honor this extraordinary profession. I think there is a misconception about what a geisha is across the world, certainly in the Western world. One of the joys of this movie was to clarify what a geisha is. The word geisha means artists for us," he said.

The film is set in Japan between the 1920s and 1940s and was co-produced by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a little girl, Chiyo, from a poor fishing village who is sold to a geisha house in the "Gion" district of Kyoto.

She goes on to becomes the legendary geisha Sayuri Nitta, played by Zhang Ziyi, who secretly falls in love with a rich businessman known as "The Chairman", played by veteran Japanese actor Ken Watanabe.

Geisha are traditionally trained from young childhood in an array of arts, including musical instruments, traditional singing and dance, tea ceremony, poetry and flower arranging. - AFP