MAHASAMAYAMA – a spectacular drama on dark fantasies of the primitive mind]

Dr Senarath Tennakoon

Many myths are devised quite colourfully to examine the dark fantasies of the primitive human mind. In the absence of scientific theories to explain human life events, primitive man stood in awe of the power of nature. A legend is a kind of folk tale and like a myth is a story about some past extraordinary events that has been passed down along the human generations by oral communication and the people believe that there is some truth in it.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in conversation with actors of Mahasamayama - an opera directed and produced by Prof Ariyarathna Athugala which was staged at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre on January 30. Prof Athugala is also in the picture. Picture by Chandana Perera

Legends bear magical qualities making these interesting.... In ancient Greece the citizens gathered in huge open theatres to watch the performances of ancient myths. Likewise the village folk of Sri Lanka gathered around Buddhist temple grounds (bana-maduwa) to watch folk tales and Jataka stories performed. Some of these have ascended to the modern stage in Sri Lanka, the most remarkable being the staging of Maname on November 3,1956, which marked the modern phase of the Sinhala theatre.

The legend or the folk tale may be in skeletal form when it is first encountered by the creative artist and he has to add flesh to make it sublime and interesting. Further he may modify to suit his viewpoint and vision. Apart from the dramatic devices employed, it is through the metaphorical use of language that he creates new realities as well as reinforces and restates old realities pertaining to human life by altering the fabric of word meaning.

As we know all language is metaphorical. Professor Ariyaratne Atugala, insightfully creative musing over legends has imparted a new life to an ancient legend/folk tale in his recent drama cum opera Mahasamayama which is rich in new dramatic features of Sarachchandra's Maname and the features of the opera as in Khemadasa's Manasa Vila. One would also remember some scenes in Taksala Nadagama and Sinhabahu too.

World of wonder

An air of striking strangeness encapsulates the entire stage environment. Strange characters in colourful costumes appear on the stage and they often utter strange phrases making strange movements. The entire stagecraft is enveloped in strange garbs. One would be wondering when a strange character, that one has never seen before appears on the stage and what he says, although he is one's favourite actor. Strange voices and noises are heard which add to the mysticism in the play. The play is filled with fascinating facts inspiring curiosity. The beauty lies in the weirdness. It is a pleasure to watch it as the play wears its scholarship profusely. The audience is made to enter a dreamy world of wonder.

According to one legend the Asura called Bahma has been serving the great god Eswera for over twelve years and with great reluctance Eswera granted this Asura a magic formula (mantra) known as Ginisura. When this formula is uttered upon one's palm and when it is placed on any object the latter would perish to ashes.

The Asura has been breeding a lifelong enmity against Eswara and has been planning to take revenge from him and was waiting for a suitable time to make use of Ginisura formular. But the all knowing God Visnu perceived this danger through his divine vision. Visnu wanted to deceive Asura in some strategic manner. So he transformed himself as an enchanting pretty dame.

This beauty (Mo hini) was in a swaying cradle when the Asura was on his way to destroy Eswara. Enchanted by her amorous beauty and sexuality; after a brief love talk the Asura expressed his true love to her. But she wanted him to promise her by swearing by placing his palm on her head. The Asura without thinking twice placed his palm on her head. At that time his palm was already fortified with the magical power of Ginisura. The Asura became a heap of ash. It is said that the most powerful demon Mahasohana; sprang from this heap of ash.

Powerful demon

According to another legend the genesis of Mahasohana: reveals a Sri Lankan identity. Jayasena and Gotaimbara were two strong giants out of the ten giants of King Dutugamunu. Gotaimbara happened to be a very short stature unlike Jayasena. Gotaimbara's young wife was very pretty and Jayasena was making amorous advances towards her. Gotaimbara knew this affair and wished to end it. So he challenged Jayasena to come for a dual fight.

A scene from the opera

Jayasena accepted the challenge and the fight took place in the fields of Dumbara where Gotaimbara jumped high and gave a thundering kick with his left foot big toe upon Jayasena's chin. This powerful kick decapitated Jayasena's head. At this moment Saturn (Senasuru) was said to have chopped the head of a bear and fixed it upon Jayasena's headless body. Thus Jayasena, the dead giant became Jayasohana and later became Mahasohana the powerful demon. Atugala has combined these two legends into one in his creation.

Creative talents

There are other sources of information about the genesis of Mahasohana in Indian mythology and in poems chanted in ritual dances. Mahasohana has been depicted as an extremely tall, strong and powerful giant with a bear's head. His vehicle is the pig. He holds an elephant by his right had and sucks its blood. He carries a javelin in his left hand. He has long hair spread over his back. His body is white and his jacket and skirt are bright red in hue.

In Atugala's Mahasamayama a large cast of veterans and new comers express their creative talents. Nissanka Diddeniya as Pothe Guru exhibits his inborn talents. Jacson Anthony as Mahasohana is the main attraction in his play. His agile rhythmic body movements and power packed verbal expressions are impressive and metaphorical. Sriyantha Mendis as the short statured Gotaimbara and his amazing fight with Mahasohana is quite breathtaking.

Channa Wijewardena as Ishwara and Ravibandu Vidyapati as Bahma Asura perform their respective roles quite efficiently. Sadun Wijesiri as Senasura has an insignificant role to play but he enacts it quite effectively. Indika Upamali (Uma), Madani Malwattege (Gotaimbara's wife) and Chaturika Peiris (Pretty Goddess) taken together express their dramatic effects to engage the audience. These are pretty young women with luminous eyes radiating wonderful powers. The audience would doubt whether the key female roles are designed to be fascinating, fickle, beguiling stereotype and seductive. But their role in the genesis of conflict in the play is crucial. A feminist critic would perhaps argue and attack the sexist attitudes that characterize traditional male criticism.

In this spectacular resource intensive production, some notable and distinguishing features are: fluidity of stage movement without break between scenes which make ironic contrasts clear to the audience; stagecraft and semiotics of theatre (signs, words, costumes, gestures etc) are located in a strange setting; poetic style is used for moments of high dramatic or emotional intensity in serious scenes and prose in general conversation; the verses are rhymed; antithesis is used extensively in conflicting situations between characters.

The key characters are symbolic representations of different grades and shades of power, and imagery of vacillation penetrates the entire play. It is a play full of contrasts which reinforce and comment upon each other. The most obvious opposition is that between Eswara and Asura, and Gotaimbara and Mahasona where values, behaviour, power bravery and duty are at conflicting ends. Emotional desire is yet another issue. Other contrasts set loyalty, betrayal and openness against corruption.

Another challenge

Athugala has been ably supported by the choreographers (Channa Wijewardena, Ravibandu Vidyapathi and Darshana Piyaratne), music director (Samantha Perera), make-up (Buddadasa Galappathi), costumes (Sampath Sanjeewa), stage setup (Lalith Jayasantha), lighting director (Mahesh Umagiliya) and stage management (Upali Ariyasiri) for making this play a giant production.

Although this play is suitable for an ultra modern large stage (Nelum Pokuna) whether it could be squeezed to suit a small rural stage is highly unlikely. Perhaps it would be another challenge to the script writer and director, Professor Ariyaratne Atugala. In particular due to heavy dependence on technology the cost in production could have been higher than say for Maname or Sinhabahu and it would hinder drawing a larger audience for enjoying this production. If Atugala is intending to take this production to the provinces then its resource intensity should receive grave concern as there are no Nelum Pokunas elsewhere.

However in the present state, finding an international audience would not be difficult depending upon the political milieu and state sponsorship. Another approach would be to trim the resources to an affordable level without harming the essential quality features, to suit an appropriate stage setting. It is advisable to integrate technology into existing dramatic systems.

The audience could choose one of the three levels for the enjoyment of this massive and spectacular production. The simplest is to enjoy it as a mere folk tale with some modifications.

The second level is to enjoy it exploring the characters and events imaginatively as related to a range of issues that have relevance and resonance to history, theatre, genre, gender and politics. One would ask whether the key characters are political figures. The third level would be to look at it with a global vision. Are the characters universal in scope and perspective? Mahasamayama is essentially a modern production and performance criticism fully accepts it as a play with a script performed by actors on a stage to an audience. Psychoanalytic approaches could be of use in the character criticism to interpret the strengths and weaknesses of the key characters. Sigmund Freud, explained personality as the outcome of unconscious and irrational desires, repressed memories or wishes, sexuality, fantasy, anxiety and conflict.

Mahasamayama presents all these psychological traits. The key character Mahasohana appears to be suffering from a psycho-complex (like some modern politician). Mahasamayama is also a mixture of style both in the sense of its characters and costumes. The young audience would be unaware of the historical epoch that the play belongs to. The play swings in an imaginary world, full of strangeness, wonder and extraordinary events. However Atugala succeeds in drawing the audience to participate in this play with their own emotions and when they leave the theatre they would be in a state of catharsis. Like the water finding its own level, Mahasamayama would find its position in the dramatic tradition and that would depend heavily on its ennobling ideological merits and the lofty sentiments of an animated intelligent audience towards its aesthetic creativity.