If only Juliet lived today
The drama totally deconstructs Romeo and
Juliet as an ideal couple. Juliet is no more the ideal dream girl that
every man longs for. She loses her interest in Romeo and finds comfort
in another man. Romeo gets thrown into a mental asylum, almost
suggestive of the fact that ardent, faithful, soft-hearted Romeos are
nothing but comic figures in a money-minded, contemporary social system.
Amalshan GUNERATHNE
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Out of the
box concept |
Gone are the days where juvenile youth believed in timeless
everlasting romantic relationships where one would even die for the
other. Neither Juliets nor Romeos can we find in contemporary
money-minded society where everything is driven by man’s lust for power
and physical wealth. Human emotions, feelings and sensitivity have no
value.
Needless to say, Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” are no longer
perceived as an ideal couple. Instead they have become the laughing
stock among youth. Romeos who believe in timeless everlasting love are
nothing but figures from distant past.
While making a deep analysis on these philosophical stances, the
drama lovers were treated with a unique theatrical experience with the
unraveling of experimental Sinhalese drama titled ‘Romeo and Juliet La’.
The drama was premiered recently at the Namel Malini Punchi Theatre. The
drama makes a deep analysis on these philosophical stances and makes the
viewer perceive the figures of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in a whole different
perspective.
The drama is almost a sequel to Shakespeare’s original drama. It
resurrects Romeo and Juliet from the grave and brings them back to life.
Escaped from death, Romeo and Juliet come back to modern times. Though
fantastical and absurd in nature, the very concept of rejuvenating the
memorable characters in to a modern setting fascinates the hearts of the
audience to the core.
The drama unfolds around the difficulties and
hardships that both Romeo and Juliet face while adjusting themselves to
the modern way of life.
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Combat.
Pictures by Nissanka Wijeratne |
The dramatic concept and the thought process that has gone in to the
storyline are unique, original and imaginative. Having said that, one
could always argue as to whether tampering with the works of great
dramatist such as Shakespeare would do any justice to the great,
artistic soul that he once was.
But that could be excused as the
Sinhalese version is made in such a way that the figures of Romeo and
Juliet is used skillfully to scrutinize and critically analyze certain
aspects of modern way of life.
The drama is almost a comparison between
past and present, how things used to be and how things stand now. The
fact that both Romeo and Juliet are from a different era provides the
dramatist with the ideal opportunity to do the necessary comparison
between the past and the present.
Certain facets of the drama could raise some serious controversy. But
it is the controversial aspect itself that makes it a thought provoking
and fascinating one to watch. The drama totally deconstructs Romeo and
Juliet as an ideal couple. Romeo gets thrown in to a mental asylum,
almost suggestive of the fact that ardent, faithful Romeos are nothing
but comic figures in modern system.
Juliet is no more the ideal dream
girl that every man long for. She loses her interest in Romeo and finds
comfort in another man. At the same time Juliet is no more the juvenile,
immature, silly young lass that she once was. She perceives things in a
mature manner and even questions her own act of committing suicide for
the sake of Romeo.
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A tragic
climax |
The drama raises some serious questions. It shows the way in which
modern man has become a lifeless dummy and a robot. Amidst the hectic
rat-race for money, fame and popularity, man has forgotten to cherish
the blissful moments which life has to offer to them. The scene of
asylum that Romeo gets trapped in to is filled with headless, hapless,
tormented figures who have become victims of the modern hectic way of
life.
Considering that the drama is an experimental one, it did not show
any major blunders. The young stage performers showed great promise and
potential. Still that does not mean that the drama was devoid of faults.
There were monotonous, tedious and repetitive moments in the play which
killed the core essence of the story. Other than that the drama was a
success and it treated the audience with a unique and thought provoking
theatrical experience by providing them with great food for thought.
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