The wages of fear

Elmo Fernando reviews two award winning plays presented by the Kalutara Tissa Central College Past Students’ Drama Circle at the Kalutara Town Hall.

The first play Suvanda Puraya (City of Fragrance) presents a startling revelation of an environmental folly. Here the city’s scavenger Suneetha (Hemasiri Ferdinando) begins his early morning chores along with his wife Sriyalatha (Lahiru Lakshita) and their son (Kasun Tarindu) and daughter (Asanka Darshini).

They kept the entire city spotlessly clean and it was obviously a city of fragrance. However, this didn’t last long, when Disapamok, the Chancellor of the City’s Vidya Peetaya thought of inviting Suneetha’s and Sriyalatha’s two children to join the Vidya Peetaya for their education.

However, at first Suneetha refused to accede to his request fearing the affluent class will revolt against this move and certainly they didn’t want their children to sit at studies with Suneetha’s son and daughter.

Improvising a timely strategy the Chancellor dispatches Suneetha and his family to an adjoining city, with the result that the city of fragrance becomes polluted with waste piled all over emanating an unbearable stench.

However, order had to be restored and Suneetha and family were recalled and their two children come back to the Vidya Peetaya to continue their studies. The City of Fragrance retained its identity, and all citizens, including the affluent lives harmoniously. There seems to be some kind of sagging in the change of scenes.

I remember, one of Stanislavaski’s comments on theatrecraft, especially about the change of scenes. He said the audience shouldn’t be allowed to feel the break up of a continued flow of the thematic content of the play. Change of scenes must be affected with the minimum of fuss. That may have been a minor lapse, nevertheless.

Akal Vikal (An alternative to timelessness) has a direct relevance to H.G. Well’s Time Machine which goes back to an irreconcilable past. But here is a skit, to my mind, a conscience-stirring drama the impasse how the growing generations begin driven into the devastating morass that assails them against all norms of decency.

Banu (Kasun Tarindu) is a TV addict whose entire day is spent before the Idiot Box. Producer Hemasiri Ferdinando’s deft handling of Banu is one of the most taut and suspenseful episodes where Banu’s friends lead him to extricate him from the wild clutches of the TV by enticing him to appreciate the beauties of the greenery, glorious sunsets and the magnificence of the golden dawn.

Banu (Maulin Dasantha) the TV addict is thus saved from disaster by his friends. The intimate and disturbing characterisation in both skits were remarkable and rewarding. A word about the music which really was thematic, incidental indeed and there were superb moments of lyricism. Tribute to Nandana Liyange’s music.

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