Two days with Ibsen

A seminar cum workshop was held to mark the death centenary of Henrik Ibsen, the great Norwegian Dramatist where the life and works were discussed. This columnist who had produced and directed three plays by Henrik Ibsen in Sinhala happened to be one of the resource persons.

A colourful array of artistes gathered in the auditorium of Hotel Confifi, Beruwala, Sri Lanka, to initiate the understanding of Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) the man and the dramatist whose centenary death anniversary falls next year.

They consisted of writers, critics, researchers, film, stage and television actors who were invited by the newly formed organisation named 'Platform for alternate culture' in collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka.

The convenor of this seminar cum workshop, meant for the building of a rapport via a face to face communication was Sumithra Rahubaddha, a novelist, a television playwright and a senior administrator.

This is perhaps a second in a series of such seminars in preparation for the great event envisaged in 2006.

As the first step in the matters relating to Ibsen, the two organising committees helped to translate three works of Ibsen (Hedda Gabler, Master Builder and Pillars of Community) followed by a production of Master Builder.

It is observed that the world which knows and influenced by Ibsen is making the best attempt to introduce Ibsen to the new generation which is a must for the development of theatrical arts in the modern world.

Though passed away one hundred years ago, Ibsen left a resourceful and stimulating legacy of vibrant creative thoughts and an indelible mark in the theatre tradition as a creator of some of the most brilliant innovative works remembered for all times.

Ibsen was loved by some, while he was also detested for his daring creativity by some others. Bernard Shaw in his eye opening booklet titled 'Quintessence of Ibsenism' made the theatre world reassess the role of the creative artist via Ibsen.

Since then the two terms 'Ibsenite and Ibsenism' came to stand not merely as intimate catch words but as terms denoting exact theatrical meanings.

The term Ibsenite is very often used for a dramatist who for the most part a follower and a lover of Ibsen who made use of the script as an indepth study of the social matrix with a narrative structure watchable underlying a subtext intermixed, elevating the plane level of viewing.

Ibsen who is hailed as the 'father of the modern theatre' left no stone unturned in his creative flux where he enveloped almost all the sensitive aspects of the society inclusive of domestic interactions between wife and husband.

One good example is A Doll's House, a play discussed widely around the world as the work that intermixes the hidden pains in the life of a wife and the attempt to cover it.

Then there is also the example of the individual and his morals, in 'Ghosts', a play where a mother does not want her son to know much about his father and keeps it a hidden entity.

The subject of the man is one dominant area in Ibsen for example take a work like, 'Pillars of Community', a play where the hypocrisy of the individual over pervades his real self demeaning the human standpoint.

Another recurrent theme is the image of the man in search of truth and his inner self. The best example comes from 'An Enemy of the People', a play that revolves round the investigations of a medical doctor, who sees the disaster which will befall on the society, but he is being prevented from revealing the truth due to extraneous socio political stigma. These are several random example to cite, and discussed widely.

In Sri Lanka the introduction of Ibsen came around the first decade of the sixties (both in Sinhala and English) with plays such as Hedda Gabler, Lady from the sea, A Doll's House, The Wild Duck and An Enemy of the People.

It is also said that 'Ibsen shook and shattered staid Victorian sensibilities by bringing up in public subjects that were utterly taboo there, by championing a multitude of unpopular attitudes toward the society of his time, by challenging, indeed, many of the very bases of complacent middle class morality' (Norris Houghton in Seeds of Modern Drama vol. 3, 1963).

Some of the views transpired at the two day Ibsen session at Beruwala was significant, for the organisers made an attempt to cover all the salient aspects of Ibsenism, initially with an introduction to his life and works, gradually entering into the realms of thematic significance attempting to interpret the textual contents and then to the study of certain plays selecting scenes to be enacted by the amateur actors helped by the veterans.

This was a practical exercise done by three main groups by way of a key selection from A Doll's House, proving that Ibsen could be replanted in the local soil with the serious participation on the part of the trained actor, performer.

A long discussion followed this session where some of the local artistes aired their views. One of the main points raised was the necessity to build a theatre school where the local artiste could be groomed to take up challenges, such as writing, directing, producing and performing. Such plans come and go and the necessity remains for ever.

One of the remarkable presentations were made by the well-known actor Ravindra Randeniya interpreting the 'method acting' as pronounced by the well-known theorist and drama director Constantin Stanislawski.

In fact the underlying idea was the necessity to grasp 'the method acting' in order to elevate the contents or the theatrical experiences of dramatists of the calibre of Ibsen in terms of powerful visualization. Perhaps the acting limitations as found in our theatre scene has to be reassessed.

He came out with various examples in his own career as an actor explaining to the participants the significance of training in various aspects of creative communication.

Ariyawansa Ranaweera, the translator and poet underlined the character significance of Ibsen with special reference to the creation of the 'hero and the anti hero' as against those heroes one encounters in the Greek, Roman and Medieval English plays.

He showed how Ibsen attempted to create a more modern hero where the age old heroism is recreated in terms of social changes over the years.

Once again the need for the modern day dramatists to discuss communication issues pertaining to the theatre scene was stressed.

Some of the participants believed that the absence of a healthy face to face discussion to build up a theatre conscience is the main barrier for the development of theatrical activities in our country.