Shell-shocked ego

Channa Bandara Wijekoon

Parakrama Niriella believes in constant contribution towards society, rather than having an occasional dip in nostalgia.

Having street / stage dramas including Sekkuwa, Meti Karaththaya and Galileo, tele dramas: Laa Hiru Dahasak and Yashorawaya and films: Sirimedura and Ayoma under his directorial portfolio, Parakrama now fully engages in nourishing his mobile theatre initiative Janakaraliya.

Janakaraliya or Makkal Kalari is the multi-ethnic platform he created for the country’s youth to share values, customs, traditions and cultures via drama.

Q: You are silently engaged in strenuous projects to contribute towards the sphere of art in this country. How would you recall your beginnings?

A: I studied at Hunumulla Central School, Diwulapitiya up to Advanced Level. Then I came to Sunethradevi Piriwena at Pepiliyana, where I met teachers who gave me inspiration to enjoy literature, poetry and even photography. Eventually I became a cinemagoer.

My first appointment came in 1971 as a typist in the Navy and I had to work in Trincomalee. We had to reside at Navy dock yard in the civil quarters. The beautiful and calm setting urged me to engage in poetry writing.

Ninety percent of the civil staff comprised Tamil people. I identified real gentlemen among them. Later in life I created the Tamil character portrayed by Nadarajah Sivam in Yashoravaya, having in mind one of these officers.

Once I took leave and came to Colombo to follow a course in Cinema conducted by the Kalaa Pela group headed by G D L Perera.

Tharanganee hall of the National Film Corporation presented film festivals very often and I was a frequent visitor to watch these films and also to see dramas like Dunna Dunu Gamuwe and Hunuwataye Kathawa.

Q: The concept of drama has evolved. What is your perspective of this phenomenon?

A: The art of drama which is a free method of expressing emotion has evolved in perfect harmony with folklore.

Greeks introduced the system of a script-written drama to be shown to a destined and a disciplined audience. In the medieval period, proscenium was introduced. Proscenium existed for centuries in Europe. ‘Thrust Theatre’ and ‘New Arena’ were introduced in the 20th century, taking inspiration from the Eastern cultures.

Drama has many faces and objectives. There is a concept called ‘black box theatre’, where a particular drama is shown only to a handful of people.

One drama could have the flexibility of adapting to different audiences and performing spaces.

The Janakaraliya drama “Charandas’’ was shown in plush settings of a proscenium as well as in the shelter of two huge trees in Padaviya and also on open-air stages and playgrounds. It could also be shown in ‘New Arena’ style theatre where viewers could watch from four sides.

Q: You were a student of the late Gamini Haththotuwegama, the pioneer in street drama of Sri Lanka.

A: In 1973, I saw a newspaper advertisement about a drama course which was to be commenced at Lionel Wendt art centre which was called Ranga Shilpa Shalikawa at the time.

I obtained a transfer and came down to Colombo to follow the course. I learned many aspects of drama from Professors Sunanda Mahendra and Sucharitha Gamlath, Dhamma Jagoda and Gamini Haththotuwegama

Dhamma Jagoda was a method actor and a perfectionist. I got the rare opportunity to observe from auditions to rehearsals, light rehearsal and the premier of the second production of Prof Sarachchandra’s Maname in 1974.

Dhamma was the Veddha in Maname and I saw how he created an identity for himself to play the role. Edmond Wijesinghe, who portrayed the character earlier, adopted a freer method which too was unique and was in line with Eastern acting style.

Eventually Dhamma had to travel with Maname and rarely had time to teach us. This paved way for Haththotuwegama’s entrance as our regular teacher. He was an English lecturer at the Kelaniya University and the President of the film society at the time.

Haththotuwegama pioneered Veedi Natya (street drama) and I became a leading figure in his team. Sekkuwa was produced as a street drama at the inception.

Street drama has the advantage of adapting to situations and surroundings. All of a sudden, an actor in the guise of a politician could appear from a boutique and join the cast. American dramatist Peter Shoemarker used puppets to draw attention of public.

I did a short film in 1980. In 1982, I joined the drama unit of Rupavahini Corporation and did Laa Hiru Dahasak and Yashorawaya.

Kadaima (The boundary) is the one episode tele drama of mine, which was internationally acclaimed. This was followed by film directorial ventures.

Q: Sri Lanka ‘mobile theater’ version Janakaraliya (Makkal Kalari) is your brainchild. What inspired you for this initiation and what exactly was your motive behind this venture?

A: After experiencing limitations in the aesthetic aspect in street dramas, I wanted to revamp street drama to have proscenium qualities. Circus Maduwa concept of our ancestors had qualities of a New Arena Theatre.

A ‘Community Theatre’ drama workshop in Rai-Pur, India, and the Japanese ‘Black Tent Theatre Group’ inspired me to create Janakaraliya, in 2003.

There was another objective. The need of the hour has arisen to nurture multi-ethnic harmony and bridge the gap between different communities. Thus we thought of giving a multi-ethnic facet to our Janakaraliya team.

We went to places like Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Hatton and Bogawanthalawa to convince Tamil and Muslim parents to offer their children for this cause.

Finally we managed to secure the required ratio. The late H A Perera who did Galileo with me, contributed immensely towards this venture.

All Janakaraliya dramas have Sinhala and Tamil versions. Tamil drama has not evolved for 30 long years to embrace modern theater methods. Prof. Sinnaih Mannaguru of the Eastern University highly appreciated our initiative.

A Tamil actor who starred in the Sinhala version of Meti Karaththaya was nominated for the best supporting actor in 2010, for the first time in Sri Lanka drama history. Likewise, a Sinhala actor starred in the Tamil version of Sekkuwa was nominated in the same category.

These students geared with many years of training, direct dramas by themselves now.

The Tamil drama Piyanihal (Passengers) directed by them will participate in the ‘New Delhi International Theatre Festival’ on January 10. Prior to that, Janakaraliya students will showcase their talents at the Lionel Wendt on January 4.

Q: You were involved in the ‘Education for Social Cohesion’ (ESC) project of the Education Ministry. What was the objective of this programme?

A: Yes. It was done with a view to grooming schoolchildren to become sensitive and sensible individuals in the future. We did this as a pilot-project at the Bandarawela Central School.

A multi-ethnic group of school children were involved in the program. We did a drama comprising Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim students.

This was done in line with the concept ‘Theater in Education’ (TIE), which is practised throughout the world now.

“The National School of Drama’’ in India conducts courses in this nature which involves students and teachers to do theater games which inculcates qualities of team work, self esteem, creativity, innovativeness and most importantly sensitiveness within students. It is essential to identify the ‘sub-text’ or hidden emotion to understand a character portrayed by an actor, fully. The viewer must have a sensitive mind to understand these finer-points in acting.

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