Electrifying youth dramas
Reading, like writing, is a creative act. If readers only bring a
narrow range of themselves to the book, then they’ll only see their
narrow range reflected in it. - Ben Okri
As the Youth Drama Festival 2009 unravelled at the Lumbini Theatre,
out of the limited number of plays that I was able to watch, two dramas
in particular caught my attention, as they portrayed exceptional quality
and a charm of their own, that also brought in a neat intellectual
thought process, leaving the spectator with something to think about,
long after the lights at the theatre were put off for the day.
Hewage Bandula staged Kumarawaru Ewith (The Princes Have Returned) -
a play discussing the dilemma faced by present day youth as they try to
establish themselves in the corporate world.
In a well structured, creatively designed script, Kumarawaru Ewith
discusses many contemporary issues including employment, relationships,
commercialization, moral choice, sexuality, environmental issues,
economic conditions, etc.
Boldly drawing his material from many sources such as the Arabian
Nights, many tales of mystery and wonderment are woven in to everyday
mundane reality as this well researched play dwells on the advertising
industry and the commercialization of life itself, as the chief
protagonist of the play – the talented young man – continuously thinks
up concepts to sell products to the gullible consumer.
Scenes from Gendagam Uyana |
In a fine mix of reality and fantasy, the three princes from Arabian
Nights, whose characters the young man has brought alive through a
commercial which he initiated but did not conclude due to a disagreement
with the management, come to confront him, once begging and then also
threatening him to complete the sequence and allow the completion of the
assignment, so that they could fulfil their mission in having been
resurrected.
Finally, seeing the dark side of life as he thinks up his storyline
to a conclusion, but, of course realizing that the commercial would
require only the rosy-hued beautification rather than the dark reality,
he agrees to conclude the commercial to its end, completing yet another
commercial of high calibre, as is customary to him.
As the story weaves its way through the drama, many different aspects
of life is exposed and revealed, finally leaving the spectator /
consumer with heightened knowledge of the world and society.
As the young man conforms to societal norms and life completes its
cycle, to go in to the next and possibly many more commercials to come –
keeping the spectator / consumer well confined within the entangled mass
that is life.
The strength of the script is finely brought out in the production
which is well laid out with precision in acting and timing.
Lakmal Chaminda and Ayesha Dissanayake in a joint production titled
Gendagam Uyana based on the short novel, A Doll for the Child Prostitute
by Kamala Das was another outstanding theatre production that was staged
for the Youth Drama Festival this year.
Centred around a brothel house where several young women and
under-age girls are stationed, it discusses many social issues and the
struggle for survival of the society at large.
Distinctly bringing out the individuality of each character including
the owner of the place of disrepute, the drama goes on to reveal how
each person attempts to deal with the circumstances of their life.
With electrifying female energy that radiates from within, the drama
is commendable for the restraint and control over its subject matter.
Ironically, having been censored prematurely at the State Drama
Festival 2009, supposedly due to explicit language and subject matter,
this finely woven drama discusses many social issues in an in-depth and
influential manner.
Furthermore, superbly cast with engaging performances and fine
costume designing, the use of curtains and shadows form an inherent
mechanism in unravelling the story to the audience.
Art works such as these, with underlying thought processes and many
subtle nuances being exposed to the spectator, are a treat to the
discerning theatre goer who brings in a ‘wide range of’ experiences
themselves as they step in to the theatre.
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