Miller's flair recreated

Looking forward to a promising era of rehabilitation through drama:

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

With 30 years experience as a director, 40 years as an actor and more than 80 productions to his credit, Jerome de Silva had come on a road less travelled to carve a niche as one of the most powerful thespians in the field.

The award winning director started off as an actor for a number of stage dramas before taking up directing musicals and plays for the Holy Family Convent for the annual inter-school Shakespeare drama competitions. He soon established 'Soul Sounds' together with Soundarie David and had been working as their artistic director for many years.

Outstanding Young Person

He has won applause as well as accolades on local soil as well as international horizons. They include the TOYP (Ten Outstanding Young Persons) of Sri Lanka award for his contribution to Theatre and Drama in 1982. He was even also one of the participants of the Salzburg Seminar, Austria, in 1996.

His most outstanding work include popular musical hits which delighted the audience with a unique experience so much so that his 1996 creation, the adaptation of 'Les Misérables' received standing ovations at each performance. His next milestone was one which went down in history for he was the country's only theatre practitioner to excel in both English and the vernacular Sinhalese theatre.

Speaking about his transition from English productions to Sinhala plays, de Silva said: "Some of those involved with Sinhala theatre said that they wished to stage a play with me. I have already done the choreography for Sinhala productions like 'Sathyanganavi. I met maestro Premasiri Khemadasa who was working on his famous opera, Manasa Vila, at that time. He requested me to handle the choreography for the opera. In 2000, soon after 'Lion King', we embarked on a Sinhala workshop. We staged William Shakespeare's renowned tragedy, 'Macbeth', translated into Sinhala by Bandula Vithanage. It made quite an impact!"

The year 2003 spelled success for the team. Aayeth Enne Nae, their play based on the translation of Ariel Dorfman's 'Widows' clinched six awards at the State Drama Festival, including the award for best production.

Transition Period

During this period more of the key players involved in Sinhala plays began to approach de Silva. His dramas with digital lighting systems, sounds and production aspects not only lured masses but also intrigued those who were employed in the field.

"They wished to experience the techniques that I brought to stage with English theatre and requested me to bring it to Sinhala theatre as well. I obliged. The Sinhala translation of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' as Velendage Maranaya is a Sinhala Workshop Players' production," he explained.

The English Workshop Players was formed in 1992, the Sinhala Workshop Players was initiated in 2000 and the Junior Workshop Players' have been in existence since 2008.

He formed the groups with the aim of distributing his experience and knowledge in connection with theatre among those who have shown interest towards the subject. The team aims at promoting peace through theatre and keeping the audience's interest in theatre with a new and vibrant zeal, keeping them at the edge of their seats for their future projects.

His Speciality

A speciality in de Silva's creations is that he had the opportunity to meet and discuss 'Widows' as well as 'Death of a Salesman' with their original creators before taking up the challenge of translating and staging the creations.

"I met Miller in 1996, in a workshop of 'Death of a Salesman', in London. I was there on a scholarship and had the opportunity of speaking to him. I even met Ariel Dofman while taking part in one of his Master Classes in Salzburg, with the UK's Royal National Theatre actors. He handed me the script of 'Widows' then and asked me to stage it in Sri Lanka. I have worked with the creators of the productions first hand and understood their minds before making preparations to stage the dramas," he commented, spelling the key of his success in capturing the crust of the original creation.

"The fact that 'Death of a Salesman' is a text included in the Advanced Level syllabus and university is a bonus point for us. We have not tried to localize it by any means. We even use American idioms to preserve Miller's intentions. It is universally relevant," he noted. According to de Silva, what captivated him most in Miller's play was its construction.

"Other than Shakespeare, 'Death of a Salesman' is one of the best constructed pieces of theatre. Although Miller wrote the play nearly six decades ago, he himself described it as a string of happenings 'when a man does not have a grip on the forces of life'. Deception, ambition, lust and telling fibs in the crumbling social backdrop take center stage in the drama. This was based on a social setup when urbanization was taking place in USA. His plays are didactic and every character in this play is instilled with a purpose," he stressed while adding that the play is very much relevant to what is taking over our own country today.

Sri Lankan scenario

Describing his views of the present status of the Sri Lankan drama scene he said: "I believe that Sinhala theatre is a bit stagnant at the moment though English theatre is very much alive. Though there are problems with sponsorship, there is a lot of new and young blood flowing into the English drama scene. It is still catering well into the entertainment sector. Sinhala theatre needs to be more prolific. You cannot increase the number of theatergoers if you do not focus on production values.

That is why the Workshop Players made a conscious effort to raise the standards of local theatre in 1992."

His Passion

He has an undying passion for teaching and even conducted workshops in the North, a mission he hopes to continue in the near future.

"I hope to take up teaching fulltime. I wish to establish a musical drama academy with Soundarie and take up teaching in schools. I have been asked to help in rehabilitation through drama too since I have done a combination of Tamil and Sinhala dramas in the past. I'd definitely take up Tamil productions if all goes well," he said with a note of enthusiasm. He concluded, "If possible I wish to take such productions across the globe to portray the Sinhala - Tamil liaison after terrorism. I hope someone will seek me out and help me make this dream a reality."

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'Death of a Salesman' in Sinhala for the first time

Fantastic news for theater goers! Jerome de Silva is on the verge of making yet another significant contribution to Sri Lankan theatre through his latest theatre production, a translation of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman', into Sinhala as Velandage Maranaya. The play will go on boards at the Lionel Wendt theatre from June 11 to 14 at 6.30 p.m.

This will be the first time Miller's masterpiece will be staged in Sinhala.

Though Miller scripted the play in 1949, the plot comprises a timeless tale which is relevant to contemporary society.

The play centers on themes like environmental issues emerging with the rise of population, lack of employment due to the development of technology, problems faced by youths and how these situations affect the lifestyle of the public.

Willy Loman who is the central character of the play will be portrayed by Sanjeewa Upendra who clinched the titles of the best actor in the National Drama Festival in 2004 and 2008 and Youth Drama Festival in 2006.

Wathsala Ranasinghe will take up the role of Willy's wife Linda while dramatist and art director in the teledrama sector Sarath P. Alawwa will portray Charlie's role. Nilmini Buwenaka who won the award of the best actress in the National Drama Festival, 2004, National Short Drama Festival, 2008, best actor Palitha Abeyratne and talented actors Anjana Premaratne, Sijeewa Jagoda, Thilini Weerasinghe, Shashika de Silva, Renuka Padmini, Harsha Kumara and Nimmi are also featured in Velandage Maranaya.

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