Old wine in new bottles
Review: Chamali Kariyawasam
To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream,
not only plan but also believe. - Anatole France (1844-1924)
DRAMA: Namel Weeramuni, veteran thespian and producer, makes
me reflect. The preceding quote by Anatole France - French novelist and
essayist, is in a way most befitting to Mr. Weeramuni as an artist and
creator. With his visions and beliefs he evidences the wisdom of Anatole
France’s words.
A fortnight ago I had an entertaining night out at the Namel Malini
Punchi Theatre - a fragment of Mr. Weeramuni’s dreams and plans for Sri
Lankan theatre. It turns out that not only does Mr.Weeramuni live by the
ideals of Anatole France but also adapts his works! And believe me,
artfully so.
The night in question was filled with laughter, as the two playlets
showing were Kolamba Hathe Nona and Golu Birinda were both farces, with
the latter being an adaptation of France’s The Man Who Married A Dumb
Wife. Incidentally, Golu Birinda was staged in the 1960s alongside
Ranjani Obeyesekere’s adaptation of Synge’s the Riders to the Sea under
the title Moodu Yanno.
It was later staged together with Dayananda Gunawardena’s Nari Bena
and 250 showings go to say that it was much adored by the viewing
public. What better Old Wine to resurface some 40 years later, preceded
by Mr. Weeramuni’s own production Kolamba Hathe Nona.
The playlets were comedic, eliciting no lack of mirth from the
audience. What is strange though is how skilfully both the adaptation of
A Man Who Married A Dumb Wife and the original play Kolomba Hathe Nona
had a ‘France-like’ feel to it.
Both playlets were essentially true to France’s style, perhaps in the
case of Kolomba Hathe Nona by sheer accident? The subject matter of this
original, is the flip side of liberalised Sri Lanka in 1977. The moral
and social degradation in a society ‘plagued’ by
capitalism/commercialism is set out in the play albeit shrewdly
humourously.
I say again ‘France-like’, thinking about the fact that in his later
years, the novelist was increasingly involved politically with the
extreme left. It is known that France became a supporter of the French
Communist party and also that in 1922 his works were put on the papal
Index, Libri Prohibiti.
Where France had with his weary scepticism about society and his
rebellious outlook won laurels, Mr. Weeramuni’s playlets go a long way
as skilled productions in a like but lighter vein. Both playlets
combined a purity of style laced with flashes of irony.
The monologues at the commencement of Golu Birinda demarcate classic
comedic style and technique from that of many weak modern counterparts.
Malini Weeramuni, Senet Dikkumbura, Daya Tennekoon and Namel
Weeramuni, all veterans on stage created comedic magic that day. Kolomba
Hathe Nona is astute in kindly irony and socio-political awareness, with
both Malini Weeramuni and Visakha Jayaweera creating an edgy and vibrant
rapport on stage.
It is not a veiled truth that original Sinhala plays died a sudden
death in the early 1960’s. A wave of Sinhala adaptations followed, with
original productions few and far between, a trend that continues into
the current day.
Namel Weeramuni cannot hence be commended only for his efforts in the
making of several classic adaptations. His efforts at original
productions through Kolomba Hathe Nona is perhaps more valuable in this
perspective as it gives vision for a future in Sinhala theatre.
As France himself had said, “People will reproach me for my audacity
until they start reproaching me for my timidity”. I am glad that Mr.
Weeramuni has the audacity to offer Old Wine in New Bottles and even
better, New Wine of good vintage in New Bottles, to mature in the
future. |
