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Nutcracker - from the audience:
Dance treat par excellence
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
Putting a new twist to the traditional tale of Russian composer Pyotr
Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s original ballet, The Nutcracker, Jehan Aloysius and
CentreStage productions staged their latest production on April 1, 3 and
4.
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Claire and brothers hunting for pests |
Although the ICC world cup fever had caught up with everyone in the
country, there was a lukewarm response to Jehan’s Nutcracker which
featured members of the Ranawiru Sevana, the Sunera Foundation, regulars
of the CentreStage drama troupe and a few other actors with prominent
dance background.
The ballet starts with a party atmosphere, Clara and a group of
friends are celebrating her birthday in her room with many toys. Clara
gets a wooden nutcracker as a birthday gift by Christopher, the houseboy
who has a prosthetic leg. He then walks away to learn that the Evil Rat
King has got caught to his trap. The Evil Rat King casts a spell on
Christopher to shrink into the size of a rat.
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Ben in a triumphant mood |
Clara too is shrunk to the same size by a golden fairy and the story
revolves around the adventurous journey of Christopher and Clara packed
with encounters with Barbie and Ken look-alikes named Blondie and Ben
and attacks from the rat king before all of them regain their original
size.
Christopher played by Thusitha Wimalasooriya was one focal character
in the plot. He is generous, detached yet very compassionate. Thusitha
renders a remarkable performance by giving life to Christopher and does
not let his physical challenge hinder the flow of the routines even in
the slightest manner. The lifts and twirls he performs alongside more
experienced dancers is done to perfection.
Chaya Manawamma who plays Clara has stupendous stage presence.
Resembling actress Pooja Umashankar, Chaya delivers a spell binding act
and stretches the limits of dance expressions to a whole new level with
good attention to detail. From graceful moves to the change of facial
expressions she had really mastered her character to such extent that
she carries her role with ease and leaves the audience spell bound.
Annabella Brochard played the Golden Fairy, a humorous character and
the Rag Doll. Annabella does justice to both her roles and captivates
the audience with her humour clad dance moves as with a pinch of
elegance and grace.
The Blondie was the one to look out for, her alternation between a
seductive temptress and a dainty damsel was a quite a treat. Wyomi
Abeywickrema sways with some exemplary dance moves and project her
expressions in a very impressive fashion. She is a splendid contrast to
Clare’s heartwarming innocence and goes hand in hand with Ben’s veiled
deceit.
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Rat King and his troupe |
The other characters played a vital role in adding flavour to the
ballet too. The choreography was commendable. Working on a ballet with
physically challenged cast members is not an easy responsibility to
shoulder but Jehan’s choreography provokes a change in our outlook on
the capabilities of physically challenged people.
The music was electrifying. This is especially evident in the shadow
miming scenes projecting action behind the scenes. The props and the
background were trailblazing as a lot of creativity was projected
through every prop that was used on stage. The stage lightning matched
the heightened the tension in the conflicts between the Rat King and the
toys and merged with their moods.
Finally, the performance of every actor was excellent. There was not
one instance during the play that the audience felt bored. The plot was
well spaced out and the appendages were used to fit the ballet in the
most innovative and appropriate manner.
Nutcracker uses physically-challenged actors in a ballet that never
intended to talk about their daily struggles of living but it inevitably
makes you think about the possibilities of the human body.
All in all, Nutcracker was a visual, audible and a dance treat par
excellence. Young or old, keeps you amused and enthralled, begging for
more. Encore!
Cast
* Christopher / Nutcracker - Thusitha Wimalasooriya (Soldier)
* Golden Fairy - Anabella Brochard
* Toby - Chatura Dayananda (Sunera)
* Harry - Indika Bandara (Sunera)
* Clara - Chaya Manawamma
* Nurse - Upeka Daniel
* Toy Robot - Madushanka Seneviratne (Soldier)
* Toy Viking - Herath Padmasiri (Soldier)
* Toy Soldier - Lahiru Nilanka (Sunera)
* Rat King - Indika Bandara (Sunera)
* Blondie - Wyomi Abeywickrema
* Ben - Chatura Dayananda (Sunera)
* Baby Doll and Rag Doll - Upeka Daniel & Anabella Brochard
* Clowns - Sajad Shabdeen and Dineth Bhagya
* Rats - Wyomi, Sajad, Chatura, Upeka & Dineth
Production team
* Devised and Choreographed by Jehan Aloysius
* Costumes, Set and Lighting Designed by Jehan Aloysius
* Costumes Stitched by Hilma Salahudeen
* Publicity Material Designed by Dino Corera |
