We come back to a storm

THEATRE: After a very pleasant week or so in Moscow, we came back home - to a bit of a ‘storm’. We had several shows of Hunuwataya lined up for performance. Actually we were a little home sick after being away for nearly a month and we were rearing to get on stage - our beloved stage.

Two of our friends - Ananada Liyanage and Nimal Jayasinghe met us at the airport and they had bad news. It appeared that Shelton Master - Shelton Premaratne - was refusing to come for the on coming shows. He had not given any reason.

Orchestra

I tried my best to contact him but could not. Fortunately I had a recording of the play together with the music - recorded from the stage. I immediately sent for Leslie Fonseka, who was a member of the orchestra and one of my ‘golayas’, and started re-rehearsing the music immediately.

We had a show scheduled almost immediately after our return, at Lumbini Theatre, Hv. Town. Shelton had not only removed himself but his entire orchestra - which meant a huge big worry for me. Somehow I still had some old hands in Leslie Fonseka, Ananda Liyanage and a few others who were familiar with the Hunuwataya music.

We rehearsed for two whole days and managed to bring the music up to some acceptable standard. Up to this day I don’t know the exact reason for Shelton’s boycott. It is possible that he thought I had NEGLECTED him in my second trip to G.D.R. and taken Manel along instead of taking him. That is the ONLY reason I can think of. In any case the ticket was for Manel specifically and I could not have taken anybody else.

Shelton may have been unaware that I had made all arrangements with Mrs. Huber and other officials of the Cultural Ministry there to make sure that he would be visiting East Berlin very soon.

The East Berliners were so impressed with what I did with their play that I could easily have nominated a number of participants in its success, to visit G.D.R. In any case Shelton’s contribution with his memorable musical score for the play would have earned him a visit even without my intervention.

Impression

Even the most unlikely people can sometimes misunderstand and be misguided and I am sure that is what happened to Shelton. Some busybody must have given him the impression that I took Manel along on HIS ticket! Anyway Shelton DID visit G.D.R. later and he also joined us once again to lead the orchestra. And that was that.

About this time my attention had been drawn to a news item that appeared in the Evening Observer of 19 January 1967. The banner headlines said ‘FATHER DEAD - MOTHER TOO POOR TO PAY’ and the catch line said ‘They still talk about him at Peradeniya’ This was a news item that described the tragic death of a university student who had hanged himself because he could not afford to continue with his university studies. The student’s name was A.M. Sumanadasa.

The same news item appeared in the ‘Aththa’ newspaper too. I was very saddened by this news. It further stated that the young man’s mother was a metal quarry worker and that Sumanadasa was her only child. I made a few enquiries and found out more details. Sumanadasa had been a fairly bright student at Walala Central School.

He had passed the university entrance examination. He was reluctant to enter university because he knew that his mother’s earnings as a metal quarry worker would hardly suffice to take on such an undertaking. But the mother had persisted. She was hoping on a bursary too for her child.

Harsh rules

Sumanadasa finally agreed to enter the university and earned himself a bursary of twenty-five rupees. He had only two pairs of trousers and two shirts. He found the going tough in spite of the bursary. His mother was a casual worker and some days she had no work. Somehow she scraped and did odd jobs to make possible for her son to continue with his education.

The posh Peradeniya surroundings was too much for Sumanadasa. Some insensitive boys who knew his background irritated him by clicking a stone against a granite wall and even made fun of his clothes. He was so stunned that he could not follow the lectures well and he failed the G.A.Q. examination.

At that time the bursary was immediately withdrawn when a student failed the G.A.Q. That happened to Sumanadasa too. He could not face his mother with this bad news. He found it impossible to continue without the bursary. He sought the easiest way out.

In any case, Sumanadasa had been a shy, retiring sort of young man who did not have many friends - not in the university anyway. This MAY have added to his misery. The more I thought about it the more disturbed I was. Why should there be such harsh rules as to withdraw a bursary because a student fails the first exam ?

Did they not look into the circumstances for such failure. Were there no one else to help Sumanadasa. Why could not the students, teachers and other left wing politicians who made capital out of his tragic death to further their cause, see his misery before he chose to commit suicide? Was there no one to help?

Sorry system

This time it was not a bee but a wasp that was humming in my head and bothering my mind. I wanted to focus attention not only on Sumanadasa but on the whole sorry system of university administration and the hypocrisy of leftist politicians and student bodies. I had started working on the play even before my visit to G.D.R.

The result was ‘Apata Puthe - Magak Nethe ?’ I used an entirely new format in constructing the play. I would first turn it in my mind, ghost- write a scene or a song in my mind, turn it over and over again and then put it down on paper.

I felt like a magician of old who would put all his ingredients into a cauldron and churn it up vigorously, then wait for it to subside and gather the results after cleaning the chaff and the sediments. The play came out fairly well.

I was happy with it. We started rehearsing it immediately. I was keen to put it on stage as soon as I could. Universities were sending out the first waves of unrest and rebellion at this time. In Colombo the students staged a sit in. They put up their own huts within the precincts of the university. University students were tear-gassed for the first time.

Meanwhile, for the very first time a poor university student who could not face up to the harsh realities of his poverty had committed suicide. Having never been inside a university as a student, my impressions of the situation was that of just another ordinary citizen. But that was disturbing enough.

Novel framework

I invited Iranganie Serasinghe to play the lead role of the mother [Ran Menika] and Douglas Ranasinghe to play the part of the son. Iranganie was a little reticent at the beginning because she had to tackle a couple of ‘kavi’ in the process of playing the role.

This being the very first Sinhala play she was acting in, she was a little nervous. But a few rehearsals and lots of encouragement from the cast steadied her and she entered the nuances of the role with ease and sang the ‘kavi’ beautifully. Douglas Ranasinghe - lean and sensitive in his looks fitted the role of the young man perfectly.

I used a multi-faceted chorus [who played other supporting roles when not in the chorus] and a Narrator and his assistant to carry the story through. It was a novel framework for a play and I used a lot of Brechtian techniques to enhance the impact. It worked very well. We had the first reading of the play on the 6th of June 1968.

Lumbini Theatre

We were to open the play on the 18th of August - just two and a half months away, at the Lumbini Theatre, Hv. Town. I had submitted my script to what was called the Censors Board well ahead of time - two months ahead of the required date. I had not criticized any individual or any organization in my play.

I had just laid bare the volatile situation in dramatic terms. Mr. I.M.R.A. Iriyagolla who was Minister of Education at that time had just appointed a Competent Authority to look into the affairs of the universities.

That Competent Authority also featured in my play - not personally, but by reference. I had not received either approval OR disapproval from the Public Performance Board. But some official of the Education Ministry called me and told me that the entire Censors Board wanted to see the play. I said that was fine and fixed a pre-view for the 14th of August. Let me quote from a diary I had kept.

August 14 - A majority of the Censors Board came to see the play. Among them were Saranagupta Amarasinghe, a Mrs. Liyanage, a Mr. Hettiaratchy, Sumana Saparamadu, Hemasiri Premawardhana, and R.D.K. Jayawardhana. H.H. Bandara and Austin Jayawardhana were also present, but they were outside the Censors Board.. Hemasiri, Bandara and Austin Jayawardhana met me after the pre-view and told me that they had no objection for the play.

The others dispersed quickly. They did not tell me anything about any decision.

Tomorrow, 15th is Poya. I will have to wait till the 16th for a decision.

16th - One Fernando from the Ministry called me to say that the play has been banned. He offered his personal sympathies to me. What could that poor chap do! He said that a letter by express post will be dispatched today itself.

I submitted the play to the Board on the 20th of June. I have sent them several reminders since. It was only on the 12 of August that they requested a pre-view. I am given a decision only today, ie., on the 16th of August.

As soon as I received the message from the Ministry I went to the Parliament with a view of meeting the Minister. Chula Kariyawasam accompanied me. I sent a note to the Minister. It was returned saying that he was not prepared to meet me.

Thought of the week

Talking about plays, it looks like our theatre audiences are being given a tough time by the security authorities. No vehicles are allowed to be parked anywhere near the Lionel Wendt theatre - for security reasons they say.

One has to park one’s vehicle in the St. Bridget’s College grounds and walk the distance to the Wendt, or take a three wheeler. The three wheeler boys have already fixed the charge - Rs.500! Some say that the Lionel Wendt authorities have hired the adjoining Women’s International premises for parking - at a cost of Rs.15,000 and that too is added to the bill of hall hire.

I cannot understand how the Women’s International premises could be safer, security-wise - to the parking lot of the Lionel Wendt. Very soon theatre goers will fight shy of going to the Lionel Wendt for reasons of inconvenience.

It is much the same at Lumbini Theatre, the Tower Hall Theatre and also the Elphinstone. No vehicles are allowed inside the precincts of the Lumbini Theatre. One has to park on the road and walk.

It is okay for young people who would even ENJOY that walk, although their vehicles may be at the risk of being lifted! But for an old man like me for whom walking is a bit of a bother, it is quite inconvenient.

I really have no SOLUTION in mind. SECURITY IS IMPORTANT. But so is a play for a theatre-goer. No wonder people get used to being glued to the TV and not bother to go through all that hassle!

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