Live on, Classics !

Sachitra MAHENDRA

Credited for introducing Sophocles to the local theatre, Priyankara Rathnayaka recently took a different route directing Aristophanes' Lysistrata. "So many ask me why I dwell on tragedies. May be because I have directed two tragedies. That is one reason why I wanted Aristophanes' comedy on our local stage," comments our 'Encounter of the Week'.

Rathnayaka teaches theatre at Kelaniya University, the only place which offers it as a separate subject, and leads 'Academic Players' which had won several awards over the years.

Q: Only a few years have lapsed since theatre was introduced as a separate subject in the university. Other visual arts such as cinema and teledrama have not been elevated to that status.

Priyankara Rathnayaka. Picture by Dushmantha Mayadunne

A: Theatre was already being taught, but as a part of a subject. It was a part of Sinhala Literature and Fine Arts. It became a separate subject based on a few reasons. First it was becoming popular. Second, it was not so complicated as cinema. It did not require complicated technological equipment. Cinema and teledrama require more complicated resources. We do not have sufficient funds to maintain it as a separate subject area.

Even in stage plays we have one major obstacle. We do not have a proper theatre hall to practise theatre studies. But that has not barred us from doing research on theatre. At the university we mostly make use of a lecture hall or the convocation hall. Some universities make use of their sports ground.

Q: They say actors are born, not made. Same goes for writers and other artistes. If that is so, how do you think theatre could be taught?

A: No, we cannot teach theatre. What we can do is to guide. Our main problem is that we do not teach the segments of theatre. We teach the whole subject. For instance theatre consists several segments such as scriptwriting, directing, costume design, make up design, stage lighting and acting. These segments must be taught separately. Some students may be skilled in scriptwriting. Some may be in directing. At our university we have visiting lecturers to teach these separate segments. But everyone must play in at least one production.

Q: Kelaniya University was instrumental in producing a harvest of stage plays. 'Academic Players' is one major party.

A: In any university specific subjects have associations. Mass Communication students have a Mass Communication circle. Christian Students have a Christian Association. Likewise Academic Players is an association formed by both general and special undergraduates as well as graduates of the subject.

On the positive side, the past students, who are now working elsewhere as senior artistes, also support this association. This exposes the undergraduates to a wide area. They will get an opportunity to take part in main cultural events as they pass out of the university. Academic Players are mostly occupied in organising drama festivals as well as gathering funds. When you study a different subject area, these are considered extra activities. But in theatre, it is not. It is linked into the subject.

So unlike other universities, we have the festivals of our own productions in addition to one or two outsourced productions.

Ada Vage Davasaka Antigone

Q: The stage play attraction, which dawned sometime back, still continues. Most plays are light humour.

A: It is doubtful if most of those plays are actually humorous. We all know the attention to the stage play came up following the end of war. It was largely because the people were fed up with the television.

So they needed a change. What is common was that they required some light humour. Most of our dramatists took it wrong. It is a little dangerous, because people will give up the stage play too some day in future, when they get fed up.

Q: Your forte is 'classical' or 'good' plays. Where do you draw the line between 'good' and 'bad'?

A: A good drama offers deep insights into life. It must portray a facet of the society we live in today. Whether it is a translation or original, it does not matter as long as the play offers such insights. 'Antigone' is an ancient Greek play. But still it poses the questions we already have today.

It deals with law, the power of law, the conflict between natural and human law. Aren't we facing these issues even today? When the ancient law was studied, it had been compulsory to study Roman drama.

As academics, our objective is to bring theatre to the common men's circles. But it has to be classical and good, which gives insights.

Q: But unlike most light humour plays, 'Antigone' is complex with rich expressions. Do you think the common man is capable of grasping such contents?

A: The problem is who the common man is. I think the answer lies in the audience. Unlike television, the stage play has a limited crowd. That is mostly from urbanized areas.

They are somewhat exposed to entertainment as well as edutainment. A very common man with very little knowledge would hardly buy a ticket and step into theatre. Only the urbanized people have such privileges.

Oedipus

So I do not think this 'rich expressions' is such an issue. On the other hand, most classical stage plays like Shakespeare's had been watched by the common men when it first came up. For instance Elizabethan plays were watched by the queen as well as the lowest strata. The plays we consider serious had been quite popular in the distant past.

Q: Your new addition is Lysistrata, which is a serious comedy. How do you see the difference between serious and light comedy?

A: There is so much to laugh at when you watch a light comedy. But you do not take anything outside the theatre hall. A serious comedy would not let you go empty handed. It offers you something to think about. Any deep profound comedy has a tragedy embedded, and any deep profound tragedy has a comedy embedded.

Anton Chekhov named his 'Cherry Orchard' as a comedy, but Stanislavski produced it as a tragedy. We watch Charlie Chaplin to laugh, but in the end we realize his face had a painful expression. He made comedies to express the struggles of his life.

Many serious comedies question the society. They question the hypocrisy of various philosophers. At the same time they give you an opportunity to think what kind of solutions will go for the deep issues we face.

On the other hand, the ancient playwrights made use of comic interludes to give some light entertainment to the viewer. In 'Hamlet' there is a comic interlude before all the characters face a tragic death. That is to make the viewer ready for the tragic event. Even our dramatists of yore practised this.