Sri Lankan Theatre in French
R. S. Godage
A dramatized reading of ‘Face to Face’, a play in one act by Seneka
Abeyratne, was performed in French at the University of Kelaniya on
December 16, 2009, as part of the annual Lire en Fete celebrations.
|
A scene from ‘Face to Face’ |
The program, titled “An afternoon of celebrated readings”, was
organized by the French Department of Kelaniya University with the
support of the Delegation Generale de l’Alliance Francaise in Sri Lanka.
The other authors/translators who participated in the program included
Dr Piyasiri Wijayasekere, Prof. Ananda Ruhunuhewa, Niroshini Gunasekare
and Dinusha Ileperuma.
The readings included Sinhala or Tamil translations of celebrated
works by such famous authors as Arthur Rimbaud, Jules Verne, Jules
Renard, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Marcel Pagnol, and Jean-Louis
Fournier.
The reading of Face a face was presented under the caption, “Sri
Lankan Theater in French”. The reading was performed by Maya Manawamma
and Charitha Liyanage, and directed by Seneka Abeyratne. (Incidentally,
he also directed Le Train de Minuit - the French version of his one-act
play “Midnight Train” at the 2008 Lire en Fete.) Face a face was
translated from English into French by Isabelle Ryckebusch and Bertrand
Dufieux.
It could be called a dialogue play because it has little or no
action, with Kasun (an artist) and his wife, Malika (a lawyer),
hammering out their marital problems in the presence of a counselor who
listens but does not speak. The counselor is invisible and could, for
all intents and purposes, be a member of the audience.
The over-arching theme is marital conflict, resulting from jealousy,
suspicion, anger, hostility, hypocrisy, and a serious lack of mutual
respect, trust, and communication.
An intriguing aspect of the play is the bizarre and unexpected
ending, which leaves the audience bamboozled.
Seneka Abeyratne’s plays (which are highly unconventional) have
earned him both the State Literary Award for Drama and the Gratiaen
Prize. Face a face, which moves at a brisk pace, has a liberal
sprinkling of humor and fizzes like champagne. |
