Demise of the 'Street King'
Aravinda HETTIARACHCHI
One Sunday morning, during the times of 1989 insurgency, a group of
ordinary type of clothing with Hatha (who was also dressed in the same
manner) came to the Lionel Wendt rehearsal room where my friend Richard
de Soyza was conducting his Sinhala drama workshop named Wadumaduwa with
a mélange of Sinhala and English theatre people who were interested in
experimental theatre.
Surprisingly Richard invited Hatha and his street drama group to join
hands with our Wadumaduwa to experience Hatha's way of practical street
drama theatre. That
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Gamini Hathtetuwegama |
day 'Hatha' and his group, Richard and us together tried doing a
co-workshop in theatre improvisation.
New horizon
After this improvisation, Richard invited 'Hatha' to give us some
words about his way of theatre. He, one by one, tore up a discourse and
an interpretation of theatre which was totally new. And this has shaken
our soul of life and theatre into a new horizon. This was my first
encounter with 'Hatha'. Yet, in my lifetime, 'Hatha' was not a closed
friend though I seriously took him as one of my teachers in life and
theatre through his works in street, stage of drama and his way of life.
Dubbed as the 'Street King' Gamini Hathtetuwegama entered the field
of drama and theatre in the first half of 1960's as the only English
language critic contemporaneous to Regie Siriwardane who was then
crowned as the best English critic of aesthetics in Sri Lanka. While at
the same time, Hattetuwegama was appointed as a lecturer to the English
language department of Kalaniya University and as the president to the
Cinama Vicharaka Sangamaya (the society of cinema critics) as well.
His earliest career in practical theatre has began in 1971 as a drama
and theatre conductor (teacher) at Ranga Shilpa Shalika set in motion at
the residence of Harold Peiris (and later only it changed its place to
the Lionel Wendt Theatre), which was prudently introduced by Dhamma
Jagoda to theatre field of this country with the participation and
partnership of Daya Alwis, Robin Fernando, Ediriweera Sarachchandra,
Sunanda Mahendra and etc. Thus, 'Hatha' took this responsibility in
theatre, while at the same time working as an English lecturer to the
university.
Past reminiscent
His street drama personality, the actual practical career of him in
theatre has surfaced into the scene in 1974, as he the founder to the
"Wayside and Open Theatre Group," the 'Weedi natya Kandayama' with the
political inspiration of 1971 insurgency and the aesthetical influence
of Victor Jara, Che Guera, Bob Dylan, Grotowski, and Peter Brook etc,
according to his own way of uttering of the past reminiscent of his
career in Sri Lankan theatre. And the first performance of this theatre
group has been performed in front of the railway station Anuradapura
with such creations as Minihekuta Ellila Marenna Barida, Raja Dakama and
Bosath Dakama. Then and thereafter, this group, through this different
way of theatre, conquered every street corner with a radical political
message of social freedom to the common audience of everywhere.
Progressive ideologies
This street drama group basically started with young personae such as
Parakrama Niriella, Nimal Darmasiri, Jayantha Gunathilake, H. A. Perera,
Gamini Hettiarachchi, Rinsley Weerarathna, Hemasiri Weeraratne,
Heenatigala Premadasa, Kumari Morawaka, Nihal Ranasinghe, Amarasiri
Rupasiri and Premasiri who dreamed of a better world with positive and
progressive ideologies.
Then until today, with the stream of time flowing, a plentiful of
theatre loving people of various borders and corners of this country
have joined hands with him, with his way of theatre, and they even had
opportunities of being well recognized or being popular figures in the
performing art fields and the various audiences of this island. Thus, it
proves that Hatha is not only the founder of street theatre in this
country but a founder of generations from a singular theatre art to a
plural one, especially from 1971 to the edge of 1980s.
'Wayside and Open Theatre Group' was the first Sri Lankan street
drama group which belongs to the best five street drama groups of South
Asia as well, though it didn't get any sponsorship of interference from
any particular state institution until Hatha's death.
The writer was a
member of Wadumaduwa theatre group |
