Kalumaali returns to the Wendt
Ruwanthie de Chickera's latest original play Kalumaali: A Fairy Tale
for Grown-Ups will go on the boards in a one-off English language
performance on Sunday November 4 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre.
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Scene from the play |
The play, which debuted to full houses in mid-September, is back by
popular demand and will be performed at the Wendt at 7:30 pm. It was
performed in Sinhala on its initial run but will be staged only in
English this Sunday.
In Kalumaali, director Ruwanthie de Chickera shines the spotlight on
parenting, and what it has become in modern times. The story of
Kalumaali is a much loved and often repeated fairy tale in
seven-year-old Saki's family.
|
A scene from the play |
In fact, it is the one story that little Saki can never get enough
of, because she knows that every time it is recited she can look forward
to a new spin on it.
Through the different accounts of this fairy tale that Saki loves, we
understand the complex and deep realities of the several adults in her
life - and the interplay between them - which lead us to insights about
the experience of bringing up children in present day Sri Lanka.
Kalumaali is based on an extended writing project involving 13 women
of the English and Sinhala theatre, which resulted in a 300-page
bilingual manuscript titled 'Cast as Mother'.
The play is presented by Stages Theatre Group and supported by the
Sunethra Bandaranaike Trust.
The cast is packed with talent and includes Peter D'Almeida,
Kaushalya Fernando, Lakmini Seneviratne, Nadie Kammallaweera, Juanita
Beling, Gihan de Chickera, Shyalina Muthumudalige, Jayampathi Guruge and
Malshani Delgahapitiya. |
