The Curtain falls on an era

Author: Ajith Samaranayake
Source : Sunday Observer
Date:03/Nov/2002

Sugathapala de Silva with SLRC Chairman M.J. Perera at the Navayugaya awards ceremony in 1987.

The death of Sugathapala de Silva last Monday at the age of 74 after a long illness evokes a sense of epochal loss. For if Ediriweera Sarachchandra gave the Sinhala theatre a local habitation and a name by taking it to its roots in folk drama Sugath as everybody knew him, accomplished the next task of bringing the new theatre to the audiences of the 1960's. It has been said of the Russian novel that it emerged from Nikolai Gogol's 'Great Coat.' In the same sense all serious Sinhala drama of today has emerged from Sugathadasa de Silva's womb although he may not have fathered them himself.

Dissatisfied with his own translations and adaptations of the plays of Moliere, Gogol and Chekhov (done in collaboration with E.F.C. Ludowyke and A.P. Gunaratne) Sarachchandra after studying the Japanese folk theatre turned to our own nadagam, kolam and sokari plays and the thovil ceremonies to seek the roots of an indigenous theatre which would evoke a resonance from the soul of a people only recently liberated from the imperial yoke. The fruit of this labour was, of course, 'Maname' his refined adaptation to the stage of the original nadagama as enacted by Charles Silva Gunasinghe Gurunnanse of Balapitiya.

The ‘Loveable Dictator’ as Sugath sought to describe the role of the director in the theatre.

He reached the apogee of these labours with 'Sinhabahu', his own play where with skilful stylised movements, memorable poetry and haunting music he was able to narrate the story of the origin of the Sinhala race and suggest through it a contemporaneous generational gap. But by the early 1960's the stylised form had spawned mindless imitators who had made a caricature of Sarachchandra's mode. What is more, there was the feeling that the mode had exhausted itself and it was this new thinking which Sugath's generation represented. This was a generation of bi-lingual youth either of urban origin or who had come to Colombo in search of the pot of gold at the foot of the rainbow. They were a middle class generation working in newspapers or the advertising industry.

They were also excited by the new trends in English literature, drama and the cinema. Most of them were grouped round the 'Sinhala Jathiya' paper (published by Gilbert Perera of the Perera and Sons family) and the magazine 'Dina Dina' edited by Anandatissa de Alwis. The late Cyril B. Perera recalls in a tribute to Neil I. Perera how of a Sunday, Neil would somehow find the money to watch a film with a couple of friends to the accompaniment of a few bottles of beer, a packet of kaju and a packet of Bristol cigarettes! Basically outsiders to the Big City these young men would chase the sun down into the sea with their conversation which centred on bringing about an awakening in the arts.

It was out of these conversations that the idea of forming 'Apey Kattiya' emerged. Established as a loose artistic grouping at the now extinct Indian Club in Kollupitiya it took the Sinhala theatre by storm with such plays as 'Boarding Karayo' and 'Thattu Geval.' But it was not confined to drama alone. Sugath himself brought out several novels during this time such as 'Asuru Nikaya' and 'Biththi Hathara' later made into a film by Parakrama de Silva.

Sugath was no doubt inspired by dramatists such as Tennesse Williams and Pirandello translating or adapting successively their 'Cat On a Hot Tin Roof' and 'Six Characters in Search of an Author' but there was no doubt that he was a natural dramatist wishing to break through the mould of the proscenium arch. Technique which he used at the time such as a character running up on stage through the audience were revolutionary for their times and was like a whirlwind blowing through the claustrophobic corridors of the Sinhala theatre as well as ossified middle-class manners and morals.

This was a personification of the aspirations, satisfactions and frustrations of a new urbanised generation which was burgeoning in the 1960's.

But if in the 1960's Sugath expressed an existentialist sense of alienation, by the 1970's he had become a more overt politically inclined dramatist and writer. By this I do not mean that he ever waved a party flag or fell victim to the wave of socialist realism which swept the arts sometimes in deference to the new United Front regime led by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 1970. Sugath was too percipient a writer for that. In fact there is no other artist in Sri Lanka (With the exception perhaps of Gunadasa Kapuge) who has been so battered by the bludgeon of blind political power as Sugath. However Sugathapala de Silva never fell into the intellectual error of confusing personal political convictions (which he firmly held) with partisan party politics.

His best play will perhaps remain 'Dunna Dunu Gamuwe' which was made in the aftermath of the 1971 Insurrection. Although centred on a trade union struggle (which might have looked like small beer to the brave insurrectionists) it had an admixture of politics and art expertly mixed with technique and aided by some superb acting by the late U. Ariyawimal and W. Jayasiri was the percussor of the serious political theatre which followed at the end of the decade.

In that sense Sugathapala de Silva will remain the one bridge which brought together the realistic theatre of the 1960's with the absurdist theatre of the 1970's and the post-modernist theatre which followed. Whether it is Simon Navagaththegama, Parakrama Niriella, Dharmasiri Bandaranayake or the latest star Rajitha Dissanayake all of them owe their origins to Sugath. Some may have followed his politics and others his techniques and some a mixture of both but the debt is beyond doubt and will certainly not be challenged.

Born in Nawalapitiya, the son of a small trader, Sugath grew up in that peculiar milieu of small town commerce with its mix of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim traders. He has portrayed these experiences of Colombo and Nawalapitiya in different ways in the novels 'Ballo Bath Kathi,' 'Ikbithi Siyalloma Sathutin Jeevathvuha' and 'Esewenam Minisune Me Asaw' which were peculiar political novels in their own ways. Here we see the agonies and ecstasies of a newly-arrived class, their gradual evolution into a national bourgeoisie and finally their bid to challenge and even dialodge the old comprador class. As a political novelist Sugath was no propagandist and was too subtle a writer to make overt political statements but all his work is shot through with his sense of immense humanism and his hope for a better society for the wretched of the Sri Lankan earth.

A self-made man Sugath was widely read and belonged to a class of self-reliant and self-supporting artistes who are now extinct in the country.

Even though politically battered, economically derelict and at times his family itself scattered he never gave up hope or went behind the patronage of politicians. Even though bed-ridden for the last several years he did important translations the last being Shyam Selvadurai's 'Funny Boy' which was released only last month.

This showed his readiness to keep up with the young and the latest in literature and ideas even in the seventh decade of a crowded life.

Sugath worked for long at the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation as a producer and in the late 1960's was in charge of the weekly radio drama and the weekly short story programs which were the first stamping grounds of writers and dramatists who are today well-known in their own right. But he himself led no school or cult and 'Apey Kattiya' was a loose democratic organisation with no formal structure although he was certainly its undisputed leader or the 'Loveable Dictator' as he sought to describe the role of the director in the theatre.

In both the theatre and literature Sugath can be seen as an early percussor of post-modernism, a much abused term today. One of his earliest novels 'Asura Nikaya' was a depiction of the silver screen of the 1950's and 1960's when stars were worshipped as gods and goddesses. 'Biththi Hathara' was about the aimless life of a philandering young man adrift in the heartless city. In 'Hitler Ella Marai' he re-created the life of Adolph Hitler in his own idiosyncratic manner.

Sugathapala de Silva was almost the last of a generation. This was a time when Government servants like Henry Jayasena, S. Karunaratne, Sugathapala Senarath Yapa, R.R. Samarakone, Sandun Wijesiri and Dharmasiri Bandaranayake (to name only a few which presently come to mind) were active in the theatre and the cinema although receiving no duty leave for these cultural activities.

The cost of living was reasonable and a middle-class family could go to the theatre or the cinema without much strain on the family budget. Buses ran late into the night so that they could go back home. The Lumbini and the Lionel Wendt theatre were hives of activity before the Centre could not hold any more.

Today, however, we live in the electronic age which some call progress but where much of the decencies of life have been lost. Sugath himself was a victim of this decay and death of decency but watched it all with a philosophic detachment from his sick-bed in a ground floor Moratuwa Soysapura scheme flat.

Many of the luminaries of 'Apey Kattiya' such as Cyril B. Perera, Neil I. Perera, Augustus Vinayagaratnam and G.W. Surendra went before him. He follows them bringing down the curtain not only on a full and chequered life but also a cultural era in our troubled country.

Of theatre and gangsterism

Author: Indeewara Thilakarathne
Source: Sunday Observer
Date: 23/Aug/2009


Although the beginning of theatre can be traced back to the very beginning of the civilisation, the origin of folk theatre and dramatics can be traced to the ritualism of Vedic people of the second millennium BC. The rudiment of folk theatre consisted of dance, food, ritualism and depiction of events of the daily life. It was this depiction of events of the daily life which subsequently led to the birth of classical theatre.

Like the Peotics of Aristotle, it is the Natya Shastra of Bharata Muni which greatly influenced the Asian theatre. It was Natya Shastra which for the first time laid a firm technical foundation for drama. Extremely wide in scope, Natya Shastra describes in minutest details not only the precepts for the playwrights and actors but also ten types of drama, principles for stage design, make up, costume dance ( diverse movements and gestures) and a theory of aesthetics (Sasas and bhavas).

According to Bharata Muni, bhavas are the emulation of emotions that actors perform while the rasas (emotional responses) are those that inspire the audience. He lays down eight principle rasas; love, pity, anger, disgust, heroism, awe, terror and comedy. He points out that a play should be made up of diverse rasas but a principle rasa should dominate the play and all modes of expressions of an actor such as speech, gestures, movements and intonations should be used in a play.

However, the epics that first emerged from India were The Ramayana and Mahabharata which inspired generations of playwrights and still influence the work of art. Noh, Bunraku and Kabuki make up of Japanese theatre. Modern European theatre was dominated by realism. However, subsequently the tradition of realism was challenged and young dramatists experimented with theatre leading to the birth of host of new traditions such as epic theatre, absurdist theatre, and postmodern theatre. The landscape of twentieth century theatre was dominated by aesthetic movements such as Naturalism, Realism, Dadaism, Expressionism, Surrealism, Absurdism, Postmodernism as well as principal playwrights including Luigi Pirandello, Bertolt Brecht, Antonin Artaud, Konstantin Stanislavski, Harold Pinter, Eugene O'Neill, Samuel Beckett, Dario Fo and Tony Kushner.

Sri Lankan theatre

Early Sri Lankan theatre was greatly influenced by Indian theatre and drama.

Nadagam, a form of folk dance from India can be considered as the rudimentary form of Sinhala theatre. The next important phase of Sinhala theatre was the Tower Hall era which was dominated by early form of Sinhala drama referred to as 'nurthi'. The principal dramatists who dominated the landscape of theatre at the time were C. Don Bastian, W. John Perera, E.Y Perera, D. Bartholamus and John de Silva. Though John de Silva came into the scene much later, he virtually dominated the era.

However, it was Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra who converted rudimentary form of Nadagam into Proscenium stage with his seminal productions Maname and Singha Bahu. Prof. Sarachchandra, who was a scholar of international repute, was not only influenced by Western Classical theatre but also by Japanese traditional drama such as Noh and Kabuki. It was in 1959 with the regime change that Sarachchandra made Maname.

Maname and Sinha Bahu marked a watershed in Sinhala theatre. They are not only masterpieces in theatre but also prominent in the use of refined language, local idiom and techniques of theatre. For the first time, English medium theatre critics of the time, acknowledged the higher quality of the production.

One of the prominent characteristics of Sinhala theatre, from its very inception, was that the productions were influenced by the socio-cultural dynamics and the milieu in which the dramatists lived. While John de Silva's plays were intended to instil patriotism in the population, Sugathapala de Silva's plays were critical of the establishment. Sugathapala de Silva was greatly influenced by ideology of the leftist politics in general and Marxism in particular.

Sri Lankan tradition of ballet, though grew outside the mainstream theatre, has been moulded under the larger-than-life shadow of Chitrasena. It was the seminal productions of Chitrasena such as Nala Damayanthi and Karadiya which formed the anatomy of Sri Lankan ballet. The Chitrasena School which Chitrasena and his wife Vajira founded has produced generation of theatre personalities such as Ravibandu Vidyapathi and Channa Wijewardene. Perhaps, the singular contribution of Chitrasena to Sri Lankan theatre and drama was the adaptation of dying traditions such as Up Country, Low Country and Sabaragamuwa dance into proscenium stage and thereby preserving the corpus of indigenous knowledge associated with these traditions.

Gangsterism in theatre

With the socio-cultural transformation from feudalism to capitalism, the economic base for lineage-based school of tradition such as Garanas (generation of teachers by lineage) and traditional teachers of dance was eroded to a greater extent.

India which is home to a divergent group of such traditions and Garanas, has absorbed effectively the traditional form of art into its flourishing system of university. One of the benefits of institutionalisation of lineage-based schools of traditions is that the ability to tap a vast pool of talents from diverse parts of the country. It is an undeniable fact that informal sector, such as so-called academies of dancing have ganged up to project themselves as the saviours of traditions while distorting the image of the university. For instance, some theatre personalities, beyond doubt they are talented, are refusing even to visit the university, have sought media sponsorship from cheap media institutions for their performances.

The attitudes of some of the theatre personalities are anachronistic and out of touch with the reality. For instance, how can one be cultured if one serves one's teacher with a plastic cup of inferior quality while serving themselves with porcelain cups. The act smacks of class prejudices and is in the first place inhuman.

Gangsterism has denied stage for university graduates to perform. These so-called academies of dancing have virtually denied access of cultural units of diverse countries based in Colombo to university by tarnishing the name of the university.

Though there is absolutely nothing wrong in sponsoring academies of dancing, if the cultural unities intend recognising talents and tapping the growing talent base in universities, it is imperative to sponsor and aid the activities of the universities.

Ape kattiya dared to differ

Author: Madhubhashini Disanayak

Source : The Sunday Times

The young Sugathapala de Silva
In an article published two years ago in the drama magazine 'Preksha', Simon Navgattegama speaks of a group of young players who had made a major contribution to drama in our society - the group 'Ape Kattiya' (Our Group). He concludes:

The change that occurred during the fifties and sixties in the Sinhala stage can still be seen in a mature form today. The change that Navagattegama speaks about is the portrayal of social problems on stage - the bringing in of social realism on to the field of drama that had been swept away into the form of stylized drama with its plots taken from myths and legends, distant in time and space, with the success of Sarachchandra's 'Maname' in 1956.

Though it is hard to agree with the belief that the universal themes that stylized drama usually dealt with had no relevance to the present, there did exist a criticism (and still does, as apparent in the article 'Hitting at Maname' in The Sunday Times of 16 February 1997) that the form that took the country by storm did not deal with the problems that affected its people.

Navagattegama speaks of the challenge of producing realistic drama in the fifties when the powerful "Peradeniya School" was propagating the stylized form which they considered to be closer to our traditional roots. '"Luckily for modern Sinhala drama, Ape Kattiya was stubborn enough to follow their own vision with obstinacy, completely ignoring the enormous challenge posed to them by the Peradeniya school."

Sugathapala de Silva: Optimistic about the future of Sinhala drama
"The first name that comes to mind when I think of Ape Kattiya is Sugathapala de Silva", says Navagattegama. Banduala Jayawardena in his newest book "A brush stroke sketch of contemporary Sinhala theatre 1950-1980" (1977) says, "These plays (Sugathapala de Silva's Bodinkarayo - 1961, and Thattu geval - 1964) of the Ape Kattiya were in fact a concurrently growing protest movement against the so-called stylized theatre of tradition.

Sugathapala de Silva named this genre Thatvika or realistic drama, implying apparently that the plays which utilized myth and had lions, kings, princes and princesses for characters, had no relevance to reality. Plays of the Ape Kattiya, were on the other hand full of characters one meets in urban streets, boarding houses and mercantile offices...."

When there seems to be some interest in assessing the worth of stylized theatre in the field of Sinhala drama, it seemed fitting that we should meet the man who is supposed to be one of the founders of the opposing trend.

"I am against the word 'opposing'," says Sugathapala de Silva. "An artist is supposed to be a man of sensitivity. What has anger against another artist got to do with that kind of person? At that time what we wanted to show was that the stylized form was not the ultimate method. We had enough confidence in ourselves to go ahead and do what we believed in. We wanted to do the best we could - not put someone else down."

Also, the playwright believes that the form is subjugated to the content. He feels that the content itself would determine what the form of the drama should be. If we look at the last play of Ape Kattiya "Maratsad" (1987), we see that he does not hesitate to use a form that is far removed from realistic drama, when it suited what he had to say.

'We should be open to all styles from all over the world and enrich ourselves with what we can get," he says and this view shows why he feels that translations and adaptations have a positive influence on the drama of any country. "If we did not have drama from other countries to compare our productions with, then we can deceive the people here that everything we do is good.

"There must be a yardstick for people to judge. And why is it that we consider it all right to borrow from the West when it comes to Science and Technology, and it is wrong to do so in the field of art?" he asks, as a response to another belief that bringing in adaptations and translations of foreign playwrights was detrimental to original work produced within the country.

For Sugathapala de Silva, drama is, one way of expression. ln his involvement in it, he did not have a clear cut desire to serve any other idea than the desire to create. "Theatre is what I chose to express things I wanted to communicate. It is the expression that is important. The medium comes to one. Perhaps if my father had bought me a racing car when I was very young, driving may have been the medium of expression. Who knows?"

According to Bandula Jayawardena, however, Mr. de Silva's contribution has far reaching consequences: "But a daringly different tendency (than the drama that was done under political patronage) had been initiated in 1972 by Sugathapala de Silva in Dunna Dunu Gamuwe which had for background a company strike with trade union leaders, blacklegs and middle class wives as in Jayasena's Mana Ranjana Vada Varjana but the play ends entirely on the side of the strikers... the play opened the doors for an outburst that had been silently simmering among youthful playwrights. It took the form of a play of protest. Hindsight would make of Dunna a virtual Pandora's Box..."

Mr. Jayawardena feels that "neither de Silva's first attempt at traditional stylization in Nil Katrol Mal (1967) nor his Nandivisala (1977) attempting to make satirical use of a Jataka, nor the host of translations and adaptations he produced had as far reaching an influence as the Dunna."

It is not only in stage drama that Sugathapala de Silva has made a change for the better. His 19 years at the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation had resulted in the radio plays done by the Sinhala Service at that time, becoming enormously popular. Since he had already had experience in stage drama it was not difficult for him to deal with radio plays, he says and apart from introducing many newcomers into 'Guvanviduli ranga mandala' (radio drama) he himself wrote scripts for it.

Says Palitha Perera, now the Director of the Sinhala Service, who worked in the same unit with

Sugathapala de Silva when de Silva first joined the SLBC, "Sugath had a very good sense of judgment, when it came to understanding the worth of scripts and the skill of newcomers. That was of enormous value." Sugathapala de Silva says that it was by watching Palitha Perera, who had preceded him at the unit, that he learnt how to tackle this new medium. As a response to that, Palitha Perera smiles to say, "coming from such a man as Sugath, that would be one of the greatest honors I could get."Sugathapala de Silva is also a writer of novels, now working on his seventh. His first novel,

Biththi Hathara (1963) (The Enclosure) which was turned into a film, has a protagonist whose life seems to have resemblance to the writer's own, specially with regard to the death of the mother at a young age, and the death of the closest friend in his youth. Asked about it, de Silva smiles to say, the first novel would always have an element of autobiography.Biththi Hathara is a story of a young man's journey through various relationships, of his finding (and losing) himself through his contact with others in the process of growing up. The criss-crossing of time in the novel though somewhat confusing to the reader, gives it, even at that point, an element of audio visual art. For a first novel, the depth that he explores with regard to the complex process of living and of feeling alive is impressive.

In his novels too one can see a trend that parallels his theatre work. There are novels - original and translated - that deal with political issues. His Ballo bath Kathi (Dogs eat rice) deals with the life of a high politician, with all its intrigues, complexities and hypocrisies. His fearlessness to tackle issues that are most often left alone is still apparent when he speaks of Shyam Selvadurai's 'Funny Boy's as a work that he might consider for translation. Homosexuality is not a theme that is usually dealt with in Sinhala literature. De Silva had touched upon that theme earlier in a drama and even in his novels, aspects of sexuality dealt in a forthright manner.

Born in 1928 in Weligama, de Silva studied in a few schools in Galle and after passing the tenth grade from Jinaraja College, Gampola, came to Colombo. The expectation of his uncle, who took care of his education, was that he should study to be a doctor. But one look at the frog that he had to cut, put an end to that education.

As a boy he had been exposed to the popular Tower Hall plays and the Minerva plays of the time, brought to Gampola by his uncle. With his grandfather, he had visited the many thovils that the grandfather had been very fond of seeing. And his curiosity to learn more about art had led him to books and a great deal of reading and learning. With such a background perhaps the decision not to be a doctor may not have surprised many. Also, in Colombo, his exposure to the world of art was greater and he made full use of it by going to see as many plays as he could.

His various jobs after that time included teaching English, and working at the K.V.G. Bookshop, where he could continue his dearly loved reading. It was when he was working on the newspaper, 'Sinhala Jathiya', that he was one of a group of young men who met regularly at the Indo-Ceylon Cafe to sip tea and bite into a wade and discuss art, and exchange ideas found in books that they had read individually.

The others of the crowd included Cyril B Perera, G.W. Surendra, Vipula Dharmawardena, Ralec Ranasinghe and so on.

"I used to criticise the plays that were running at that time quite a lot" says Sugathapala de Silva, smiling at the recollection. "And once, Cyril said, then you do one and show us. That was when I wrote Bodinkarayo".

That script was entered into a drama competition organized by the Arts Council in 1962. It won awards for the best script, best production and the best male actor. Just to prove that this was not a fluke, de Silva wrote his next play, Thattu Geval in the same style.

"To enter Bodinkarayo to the competition we had to fill a form which had asked which group was presenting the play. We just put 'Our Group' (Ape Kattiya) there," says de Silva speaking of the name that had since then become very well known in the field of Sinhala drama.

Another legend in this field, that of Maname and Sarachchandra, of whom it is generally believed, Sugathapala de Silva stood in contrast according to the recent article 'Hitting at Maname' comes to mind. Among other things, it does not seem fair to criticize Maname for the paucity of its imitations. And to think that Sarachchandra himself admitted that Maname did more harm than good in Sinhala drama, is to miss Sarachchandra's subtle humour and sarcasm completely.

Perhaps it is fitting here to mention that various forms of art, once created in a country, can only enrich it. Art grows in opposition and contrast. Sometimes the reason something new grows is the existence of the old.

Mr. De Silva himself is a proponent of enrichment by whichever way it is possible and holds that form really is incidental to what has to be said. His contribution to Sinhala drama has not been slight and even now the spirit of his creative power takes him to more modern mediums like the teledrama with equal vigour and enthusiasm.

With a cheerfulness that seemed characteristic, De Silva admits that it is becoming increasingly difficult to produce stage dramas, when television attracts most of the talent, but admits that it is inevitable, given the financial difficulties that most people have to face.

But he speaks with optimism about the future of Sinhala drama. He has detected a trend of upcoming young men in this field, who produce plays for the sheer joy of its creation. They are dedicated enough to the art not to be lured into commercial, popular productions and in them, he sees hope. And when such a man as he, who has been so long in the field and has done so much by his work, does not consider the future to be too bleak, perhaps we too can take heart.

සත්වෙනි අනුස්මරණ දිනය නිමිත්තෙනි

Author: ශෂී ප්‍රභාත් රණසිංහ
Source :Silumina

සුගතපාල ද සිල්වා නමැති සොඳුරු ආඥාදායකයා මිය ගොසින් මේ ඔක්තෝබර් මස 28 වෙනි දාට සත් වසක් සැපිරේ. සුගත් ගැන බොහෝ දෙනා බොහෝ දේ ලියා කියා ඇත. එහෙත් මේ සකල කලා වල්ලභයා ගේ කලා නිමැවුම් පිළිබඳ තව ම ප්‍රාමාණික ශාස්ත්‍රීය විචාරයක් ලියැ වී ඇතැයි මම නො සිතමි.

ඔහු පිළිබඳ මගේ මතකය ඈතට දිව යයි. දෙතුන් වතාවක් පමණ මුණ ගැසී කතාබහ කොට තිබුණ ද මා ඔහු ගේ කලා නිමැවුම්වලින් ලද ඉගැඹුරු බිඳුම් අපමණ ය. සොඳුරු ආඥාදායකයා අනූහතේ සිට රෝගාතුර විය.

ඔහුට අංශභාග රෝගය වැලැඳී තිබිණි. එහෙත් ඒ ගත සිත දුබල වූයේ නැත. වෙව්ලන ඇඟිලි තුඩු මත පන්හිඳ රුවා ගත් හේ ශ්‍යාම් සෙල්වර්දෝර් ගේ ජ්භදදර ඕධර නමැති නවකතාව “අමුතු ඉලන්දාරියා” නමින් සිංහලයට නැගුවේ ය.

අවුරුදු 74 ක් පරම ආයුෂ විඳ නිහඬ ව අප අතරින් සමුගත් සුගත් උත්තරීතර සමාජවාදය උදාවෙන තුරු මඟ බලා සිටි කලාකරුවෙකි. එහෙත් මේ රටේ ව්‍යාජ සමාජවාදියෝ ඔහු ජීවත් ව සිටිය දී ම උත්තරීතර වූහ. වමත් දකුණත් සොයා ගන්නට නො හැකි ව ව්‍යාකූලත්වයට පත් වූ රටක ඔහු තනිව ම නිහඬ ව හුදෙකලා බුද්ධිමය අරගලයක නියැළුණේ ය.

අභිනව චින්තන විප්ලවයකට මුල පිරු හේ නව කල්පනා සිහින දැකුම් සමාජය හමුවේ කියා පෑවේ ය. 1972 වසරේ දී “අනේ දෙව්දත් නොදුටි මොක්පුර” නමැති කාව්‍ය සංග්‍රහය රචනා කරමින් සුගත් ස්වකීය බුද්ධිමය අරගලය මොනොවට පැහැදිලි කළේ ය. නිදසුනක් ලෙස එකවි සපුවෙහි නිමැවුමක් පහත හකුලා දක්වමි.

මොළ නෙලූ එකෙක්

රාක්ක මොළවලින් පුරවා

පොත් ගුලක හිර වී

කාවන් සමඟ සටනක

මොළ ගසා කෑ එකෙක්

සේප්පු කාසිවලින් පුරවා

රිදී යතුරු කැරැල්ල

විල්ලු ද කොට්ටය යට සඟවා

නොමැරෙන බේත් සොයන සටනක

(අනේ දෙව්දත් නොදුටි මොක්පුර - 17 පිට)

පූර්වෝක්ත කාව්‍ය නිමැවුමෙන් එදා සුගත් පැවැසූ පරිදි අද තිබෙනුයේ ද මොළ ගසා කන්නන් ගෙන් ගහන කුණු වී ගිය සමාජයකි. මේ සමාජයේ මොළ සූරා කන්නන් මිසක මොළ නෙලන්නන් දක්නට නැත. ජීවිතයේ රිද්මය සිය කාව්‍ය නිමැවුම්වලින් විමැසූ සුගත් පුද්ගලයා ගේ ධී සවිය පිළිබඳ අනවරතයෙන් ම කතා කෙළේ ය. ගතානුගතික වැඩවසම් වහල් චින්තනයෙන් වියුක්ත වී සිය සාහිත්‍ය කලාංගයන් සමාජ සංවාදය සමඟ සම්මිශ්‍රණය කිරීමට ඔහු ගත් ප්‍රයත්නය සුළු පටු නො වේ.

නාට්‍ය, නවකතාව, කවිය වැනි නිර්මාණ මාර්ගයන්හි මෙන් ම විචාර මාර්ගයෙහි ද සුගතපාල ද සිල්වා නායකත්වය දී තිබෙනුයේ මෙකී බුද්ධිමය අරගලයට ය.

ජීවිතය

කෙළ පිඩකි

අලුයම ලූ

මේ කෙළ පිඩ

බුද්ධියේ

අනුදක්නයෙන් අල්ලා

ජීවිතේ රෝග නිධානය සොයව්!

(අනේ දෙව්දත් නොදුටු මොක්පුර - 14 පිට)

සමාජ විඥානය ග්‍රහණය කරගත් විශිෂ්ට කලාකරුවන් අප අතර සිටිනුයේ අතළොස්සකි. එයිනුත් සුගතපාල ද සිල්වා සියුම් විචක්ෂණශීලිත්වයෙන් හෙබි සුවිශිෂ්ට කලාකරුවකු බව මම කියමි. ශෛලීගත සම්ප්‍රදායෙහි සිර වූ සිංහල නාට්‍ය කලාව ඉන් පරාරෝපිත කොට ඊට තවත් රූපයක් තිබෙන බව තිරසර ලෙස භාවිතයෙන් ම සාක්ෂාත් කළ නාට්‍යවේදියා සුගතපාල ද සිල්වා යැයි කීම අතිශයෝක්තියක් නො වේ.

සිංහල නාට්‍ය කලාව සුපුෂ්පිත කොට සුපෝෂණය කිරීම සඳහා බටහිර සම්භාව්‍ය නාට්‍ය කලාව සේවනය කළ සුගත් සිය අසමසම කලා ප්‍රතිභාවෙන් ද සියුම් ගැඹුරු ප්‍රඥාවෙන් ද උතුම් මනුෂ්‍ය ධර්මයෙන් ද පොහොණ වූ අප්‍රමාණ කලාකරුවෙකි. ඔහු ගේ විස්මිත කලා මෙහෙවර සිංහල නාට්‍ය, නවකතාව, කවිය මතු නොව ගුවන් විදුලිය ආදි ක්ෂේත්‍ර ගණනාවක් ඔස්සේ විහිදී ගිය මහා ප්‍රවාහයකි.

ගුවන් විදුලියෙහි සුගත් කළ විප්ලවයක් ලෙස ගුවන් විදුලි නාට්‍ය හා කෙටිකතාව ප්‍රමුඛ තන්හී ලා ගිණිය හැකි ය. කෙටිකතාව වූ කලී වචන පෙළකින් ඔබ්බට ගිය රස පද්ධතියක් බව ඔහු භාවිතයෙන් ම පෙන්නා දුන්නේ ය. ජාතක පොත, සම්භාව්‍ය සාහිත්‍ය මෙන් ම මාක්ස්වාදය ද පිළිබඳ චීරපරිචිත අවබෝධයකින් යුතු දුර්ලභ ප්‍රාඥයකු ලෙස ද ඔහු සිය රංග කලා හා සාහිත්‍ය භූමිකාව තුළ කැපී පෙනේ.

සුගත් ගේ නාට්‍ය නිෂ්පාදනය සහ අධ්‍යක්ෂණය අරබයා වූ පුළුල් දැනුම්වත්භාවය සහ අවබෝධය ඔහු විසින් 1988 පළ කළ සොඳුරු “ආඥාදායකයා හෙවත් නාට්‍ය නිෂ්පාදක” නමැති කෘතියෙන් වටහා ගත හැකි ය.

ඒ හැරුණු විට “මරාසාද්” වැනි දැවැන්ත පරිවර්තන නාට්‍ය නිෂ්පාදන හරහාත් සුගත් ගේ නාට්‍ය සම්පාදන කලාව විද්‍යමාන වේ. පීටර් වයිස් ගේ (Peter Weiss) මරා - සාද් (Marat - Sadc) නාට්‍ය දුෂ්කර පිටපතකි. එහෙත් නව වාමවාදී කතිකාව නිරූපණය කිරීමට ඔහු මේ දැවැන්ත නාට්‍ය කෘතිය පරිවර්තනය කොට වේදිකාගත කෙළේ ය.

සුගතපාල ද සිල්වා ගේ විශිෂ්ටත ම ස්වත්‍රන්ත්‍ර නාට්‍ය “දුන්න දුනු ගමුවේ” නාට්‍ය යැයි කීවොත් එය අතිශයෝක්තියක් නො වේ. දුන්න දුනු ගමුවේ පුරා දශකයක් පුරා මෙරට නගර, උප නගර, ගම් නියංගම් සිසාරා ගමන් කළ දැවැන්ත නාට්‍යයකි.

ගැමි රඟ මඬලින් ඔබ්බට ගිය නව නාට්‍ය සම්ප්‍රදායක් සඳහා පුරෝගාමී වූ “දුන්න දුනු ගමුවේ” සමාජ සංවාදය කැටුව අවතීර්ණ වූ මහාර්ඝ නිර්මාණයකි. කම්කරු සමිති නායකයකු ස්වකිය පන්ති සටන හා අසරණ වූ සිය බිරිඳ - දරුවා අතර මැදි වී කරන සන්ත්‍රාසජනක විඳවිල්ල මෙන් ම ලාංකේය කාන්තාවන් ගේ කැපවීම පිළිබඳ පණිවිඩය ද රැගෙන ආ මේ නාට්‍ය එවකට සමාජයේ මතු වූ කැකෑරිල්ල ද සුවිශද කෙළේ ය.

සුගතපාල ද සිල්වා ස්වකීය කලා නිමැවුම් කෙරෙන් ලාංකේය කාන්තාවන් ගේ අධ්‍යාත්මය විනිවිද දුටු මාහැඟි කලාකරුවෙකි. ඔහු විසින් නිෂ්පාදනය කළ “හිත හොඳ අම්මණ්ඩි” නමැති නාට්‍යයේ එන බර්ටෝල් බ්‍රෙෂ්ටි ගේ කාව්‍ය නිමැවුම පූර්වෝක්ත කරුණු කාරණා සනාථ කරන ආකාරය බලන්න.

ඉවක් කෝ? තැනක් කෝ?

දස්ස මිනිහට රටේ

වාසනා ගුණ සිඳුණු

පිදිය යුත්තන් නොදත්

දස්කම් විස්කම් ඔප්පු කරන්නට

අනුබල අනුහස තල්ලුව ඕනෑ

දස්කම් විස්කම් ඔප්පු කරන්නට

විලක්කු පාලිය රඟන්න ඕනෑ

(අනේ දෙව්දත් නොදුටු මොක්පුර - 20 පිට)

නිස්සන්, සුදුස්සන් නො ව පුස්සන්, ගැත්තන් රජයන සමාජයක දක්ෂයනට වැඩ කිරීමට අවස්ථාවක් කොහින් ද? දක්ෂයාට අද සමාජයේ ඉඩක් නැත. ඔහුට කිසියම් ආස්ථානයකට අවතීර්ණ වීමට නම් දූෂණයෙන්, වංචාවෙන් ජීවත් වන බඩගෝස්තරවාදී අමනෝඥයන් ගේ ඕනෑ එපා කම් ඉටු කළ යුතු ය. කාන්තාවකට නම් ඊටත් වඩා බොහෝ දේ පරිත්‍යාග කිරීමට සිදු ;ව්.

උඩු යටිකුරු වී ගිය සමාජය දෙසට සුගත් ගේ විමංසානාක්ෂිය යොමු වන ආකාරය කෙතරම් නම් අගනේ ද? සුගත් ගේ නාට්‍ය මෙන් ම කවිය ද මනුෂ්‍යත්වයේ පැහැයත්, සමාජයේ රිද්මයත් මුසු කොට සුපුෂ්පිත කළ පුෂ්පයක් බඳු ය. සංවේදී මනුෂ්‍ය හදවතට අනවරතයෙන් ම පෙම් බැඳි සුගත් මිනිස්කම අලුක්කාලක්වත් නැති ජරා ජීර්ණ සමාජ සංස්ථාවට අතුල් පහරක් එල්ල කරන තවත් අපූරු කාව්‍ය නිමැවුමකි මේ.

අහම්බෙන් මෙන්

විශ්වයේ කොහේදෝ තැනක

මොකක්දෝ පෙරළියක් වූ

අමාවක පෝ දාක

කිරි බැබළෙන හඳ එළියේ

ඇහින්දෙමි මම

උණුවෙන හදවතක්

“කාටද ඕනෑ උණුවෙන හදවතක්

කවුද ආශා උණුවෙන හදවතක්”

කෑ ගෑවෙමි මම

හදවත් නැත්තෝ

නහුතක් දෙනා

“එපා එපා” මුර දෙති

අහක බලාගෙන

අනේ දෙව්දත් නොදුටු මොක්පුර - 40 පිට

අද්‍යතන සමාජයේ හදවත් ගැනීම මෙන් ම පිදීම ද ගනුදෙනුවකි. පුද්ගලයා මූලික කර ගත් ආත්මාර්ථකාමී මිනිසුන් රජයන සමාජයක හදවත් ඇත්තෝ කවුරුන් ද? උණු වෙන හදවතකින් මේ ගොරතර සමාජයට කුමන නම් පලක් ද? මේ අරාජික සමාජයට අවැසි වනුයේ රළු පරළු ගොරහැඬි හදවත් ම පමණි.

එහෙත් හදවත් නැති මිනිසුන් අතරේ වුව ද සුගත් හදවතින් ම අපූරු සිහිනයක් දකියි. ඔහු ස්වකීය කලා නිමැවුම් කෙරෙන් විමැසුම් කෙළේ ද එකී මනරම් ජීවිතය යි. මෙනයින් ජීවිතයේ යථාර්ථය සොයන පුද්ගලයන්ට සුගත් ගේ මාහැඟි කලා නිමැවුම් සත්‍යයේ කැටපතක් බඳු ය.

'Makkal Kalari' (Jana Karaliya) - a theatre bridge between Sinhala and Tamil people

Author: Anjana Gamage

Source: Daily News

DRAMA: "We will not directly speak on peace. But the entire audience who view our dramas will realise that it as a collective work by both Sinhala and Tamil theatre loving groups.

For example, Tamil artistes would play roles in Sinhala dramas and Sinhala artistes would perform in Tamil dramas.

The presentation of our theatre production, would provide some kind of a signal to the inner thoughts of the viewers in an exemplary manner", points out veteran small screen and stage drama director Parakrama Niriella.

Parakrama Niriella

"Jana Karaliya" or " Makkal Kalari" in Tamil means theatre of the people. "Jana Karaliya", a drama and theatre activities group, which focuses their programmes throughout the country, was a brain concept by Niriella two years ago.

Speaking on the object of "Jana Karaliya", Niriella said: "Jana Karaliya" was launched in July 2004, just two years ago. But I had immense experience in handling theatre production with Haththotuwagama in 1970s when we were doing the production of "Sitha and Rama".

However I had a difficulty with the term of 'performing space' in stage dramas. We were used to call the stage in Sinhalese as "Ranga Madala" or "Karaliya" or " Vedikawa".

But in Europe, although they called it "Stage" when it comes to use, it means a lot. The stage dramas should go to the ordinary people. We should offer it in more attractive way rather than it was".

Describing the activities of the mobile theatre group of "Jana Karaliya", Niriella said that the unique of its mobile group is that it owned a huge tent that can accommodate thousands of theatre lovers at once.

"It is called new arena type theatre. The mobile theatre group in Colombo visit the area they chose and put up the tent there. From that point they start their theatre activities. The very first mobile theatre came to live from Anuradhapura.

Another one was held in Trincomalee. The mobile theatre is different from the applied theatre. We have a group consisting of Sinhala and Tamil youth of 25 members. The dramas produced by these members will be shown from time to time at the tent.

Apart from the performance, we will also hold drama workshop for youth and series of workshop and practical sessions for Sinhala and Tamil teachers in the area with the intention of promoting their knowledge on theatre which will assist them in teaching Drama and Theatre in schools".

The huge tent

This time "Jana Karaliya" has launched its Drama and Theatre programme in Puttalam District. "Jana Karaliya" Mobile Theatre Group arrived Puttalam in May and installed the Mobile Theatre at St. Mary's Tamil Maha Vidyalaya ground.

They will stay there till mid of July, engaging with Drama and Theatre activities. They have already started conducting Drama and Theatre appreciation programmes at Puttalam, Mahakumbukkadawala, Karuwalagaswewa, Anamaduwa, Vanathavilluwa, Serakkusiya, Kalpitiya and Nawagaththegama with the assistance of the Provincial Secretaries of those areas.

They will start Drama and Theatre appreciation programmes and workshops for school students and teachers after A/L examinations and holidays.

"Jana Karaliya Drama Festival", the most attractive item of their activity in the Jana Karaliya Mobile theatre started from June 23 and continue till July 3.

Mobile theatre activists

Jana Karaliya Sinhala and Tamil Drama production, "Charandas", "Seethambarapata", "Andaramal", "Devlowagamana", "Charandas Kallan", "Mayappattadai", "Erukkalam Poo", "Dewaloha Payanam" and Children's Plays of Saman Pushpakumara ("Ahankara Kiribabi and "Dangayo Ne") and Sumith Samarasinghe ("Soru Evilla") also included in the list of Drama Festival scheduled.

All the "Jana Karaliya" plays are collective efforts of the Janakaraliya Mobile theatre group that consists of Sinhala & Tamil youth.

Palitha Abeylal, Jayantha Kumara Muthuthanthri, Suneth Shanthapriya, Sokkalingam Krishanthan, Chaminda Prasad, Manjula Ranasinghe, Nishantha Kularatna, Sumudu Mallawarachchi, Thyagaraja Sivanesan, Muniyandi Kalidas, Verni Theresa, Ajanthan Shanthakumar, Arosha Tharanganee, Sineth Devinda, Dinesh Swarna Sri Livera, Sam Paul, Malithi Kumari, Praneeth Jeewantha, Chinthaka Kodithuwakku, Rasaiya Lohanadan, Selvaraj Leelawathi, J. Sr Devi and B. Radhika are performing artistes in all these plays.

H.A. Perera has composed music with the assistance of Sumudu Mallawarachchi and Tharindu Gamage. Palitha Abeylal is the sound controller, Ajanthan Shanthikumar is the lighting technician and Chaminda Prasad is the Make up Artist. Ravinda Mapitigama assists in choreographing and direction.

Dilip Rohana is doing the management while Parakrama Niriella and H.A. Perera leads the entire Jana Karaliya Programme.

"Aswenna" "We of the Eighties" (Asuve Api)

Author: Jayanthi LIYANAGE

Source: Daily News

"We of the Eighties" (Asuve Api), uniting participants of theatre workshops held in the eighties decade at the Soviet-Sri Lanka Friendship League, will honour their four "gurus" at 6 pm on November 28, at the Elphinstone Theatre in Colombo, in a ceremony named "Aswenna".

Veteran make-up artiste and actor Vasantha Vittachchi, award-winning film, stage play and television director Parakrama Niriella, theatre music director and actor H.A. Perera and Tower Hall Theatre Foundation Director-General and lawyer Douglas Siriwardena will be presented with "Aduru Harasara" awards on this occasion. Proceedings will be led by cinema and stage personalities Sumithra Peries, Irangani Serasinghe, Somalatha Subasinghe and Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne, interspersed with concert items of songs and excerpts from stage plays. The special oration of the "gurus" will be delivered by theatre personality Jayalath Manoratne.

Vasantha Vittachchi

Douglas Siriwardena

"The demise of respected people, heard over TV and radio, tormented us that we were not treating our teachers well, the result of which was Aswenna, 25 years after the workshops, " said stage actress Mali Jayaweerage, Treasurer, Asuwe Api. Asuve Api souvenir will be a collection of informative writing on the local history of theatre workshops, street theatre and pioneers of the past years. Articles contributed by Jayantha Chandrasiri, Kumara Siriwardhana and other veterans in the arena, will make it ideal for school libraries, said Jayaweerage.

Workshops

The workshops, held free of charge from 1984 to 1988, were the launching pad for tele-drama, stage play and film directors and actors, radio announcers, journalists, script-writers, make-up artistes, doctors, engineers, lawyers and even politicians, numbering nearly 200 and now recognised for their individual ability. Dr. Sena Nanayakkara, Jayalal Rohana, Jayantha Chandrasiri, Jayalath Manoratna, Ashoka Handagama, Anoma Jinadari, Sudath Mahadivulwewa, Malcolm Machado, Udeni Alwis, Mali Jayaweerage, Manohari Hewawasam, Channa Perera, Ajith Lokuge, Nilmini Buwaneka and Central Provincial Council Chairman Saliya Bandara Dissanayake are among them. "Of these, over 40 people work full-time in the theatre field," said tele-drama and stage actor Ajith Lokuge.

Douglas Siriwardena, the initiator of the workshops, blossomed as a playwright with "Ambu Semiyo" while working in Thulhiriya Textile Mills. Earnings from theatre productions paid his way through Law College. "Suba Sendevak" and "Hitler" were his other plays in the seventies. Involved in the National Youth Council theatre workshops conducted all over the island, he graduated to the Soviet-Sri Lanka Friendship League workshops, assisted by Parakrama Niriella, H.A. Perera and Vasantha Vittachchi as Instructors. Political violence in the later years called a halt to the workshops.

H.A. Perera

Parakrama Niriella

Parakrama Niriella is credited for his contributions to the open-air theatre in Sri Lanka. Through his Open Art Circle, he scripted and directed the award-winning stage play "Sekkuwa" for which Perera directed music. After producing stage plays "Galileo" and "Uttamavi", he joined National Rupavahini and scripted and directed the tele-drama "La Hiru Dahasak". Later, he became an independent artiste and directed the award-winning film "Siri Medura." Niriella is the founder of "Jana Karaliya" folk theatre troupe which produced the play "Charandas" in both Sinhala and Tamil.

Stage plays

H.A. Perera, asked by a friend to join Ranga Shilpa Shalika conducted by Dhamma Jagoda at Lionel Wendt, came in the hope of studying music but found his vocation changed to acting. He acted in the stage plays "Raja Dekma", "Bosath Dekma", the banned "Wedikkarayo", "Spartacus", "Julius Caesar" and as Jesus in Niriella's first film direction "Palamuveniya saha Anthimaya", Sumithra Peries' "Sagara Jalaya Madi Henduwa Oba Sanda" and left an indelible mark as an actor in the film "Keli Madala". He directed music in Niriella's stage plays and was the first instructor of Jana Karaliya. On stage, he won the awards for Best Actor and Best Music Direction. On cinema, He won the award for Best Supporting Actor. Though Perera has not acquired a university degree, he is said to possess a vast knowledge and practical experience in the theatre field.

Vasantha Vittachchi is the first local make-up artiste to win awards in all three fields of theatre, cinema and television. He joined Niriella's Open Art Circle in the seventies, studied under Dr. Solomon Fonseka and acted in street theatre. He was the make-up artiste Ranjith Wickramasinghe's assistant in Chandran Ratnam's film "Aadara Kathawa" and continued being a make-up assistant in the films "Viragaya" and "Kristu Charitaya". His first award in make-up was for the stage play "Abuddassa Kolama" and the first film award was for Boodie"s "Sihina Deshaya." (Profiles provided by Manohari Hewawasam, Secretary, Asuve Api.)

‘The demise of respected people, heard over TV and radio, tormented us that we were not treating our teachers well, the result of which was Aswenna, 25 years after the workshops, “ said stage actress Mali Jayaweerage, Treasurer, Asuwe Api. Asuve Api souvenir will be a collection of informative writing on the local history of theatre workshops, street theatre and pioneers of the past years. Articles contributed by Jayantha Chandrasiri, Kumara Siriwardhana and other veterans in the arena, will make it ideal for school libraries, said Jayaweerage’

One man, 14 Personalities

Wilson Gunaratne on portraying diverse personas:

Author: Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

Source: Daily News

Seasoned actor Wilson Gunaratne of Charitha Hathak fame is all set to embark on yet another great adventure in his career by portraying 14 diverse characters on screen. Named 'Neighbour in Trouble' this unique television series will begin work shooting in locations in Colombo and around the island soon.

Wilson Gunaratne in ‘Neighbour in Trouble’

It was mainly the success of Charitha Hathak which triggered the idea for 'Wilson at the 80'. The thought took shape while the actor turned director was at Sandeep Marwah Studio, Delhi, engaging in research.

"I was inspired by what I found. I worked hard to build up 14 characters, each very different from the other, to present them to the art scene. This is the first time that an actor had attempted presenting such a large number of characters in one series in Sri Lanka," he explained adding that the fourteenth character will be unveiled at a special event organized by the 80 Club of Colombo. Titled 'Wilson at the 80' the event will take place at the 80 Club House on September 26 at 7.30 p.m. The evening will also see Gunaratne taking to the stage with music garnished with old hits and a considerable dose of comedy.

"'Neighbour in Trouble' is a humorous comedy based on cultural conflict and language barriers. You can expect English and Sinhala dialogues in the series. This consists of 12 different stories. The story rotates around a team trying to run different types of projects and organizations. None of the different settings are spared and you may find traits of people whom you have met and worked with in these characters," he explained.

According to Gunawardena some of the latest technological devices will come to play in shooting the episodes where two or more roles portrayed by him are present in the same scene.

He says, "At times the viewers will able to see me portraying all 14 characters in one frame. Nobody had tried it out before in any of the local productions. It is a time consuming and expensive task but I decided that as I might not get a chance to put the idea into practice in around five years, I might as well take the plunge. I felt that I am still up to it to take on this challenging task and do justice to the project," he smiled.

He says that it is through practice and hard work that an actor is able to shift into roles quite different from each other in a matter of minutes. Continuous rehearsals help to prefect the loose ends and help him essay his role up to his satisfaction.

The many faces of Gunaratne

"I was invited by the studio to shoot the production in India but I preferred to engage in the process on local soil to enhance the dignity of our Motherland," he stressed adding that each individual has a responsibility towards upholding the value of the country.

An expert at imitating voices to suite the diverse roles, Gunaratne said that he had already recorded and decided on 14 different voices for the roles he hopes to bring to life. Two Indian actors will be joining Gunaratne on the sets but the rest are local artistes.

"I also aim to star in 28 different roles for a film. I have already composed 28 different voices for the project and hope to begin work on it next year," he revealed. Gunaratne and G. Chandrathilak are working on the script.

"The film will be based on the concept of totally rejecting terrorism and I believe that the time has come for us to start finding the answers to the problem which had been a canker in society for nearly three decades. It is up to a Government body and other authorities to take note and support this mission."

Speaking on his ability to portray diverse roles Gunaratne set Indian actors Sivaji Ganesan portrayed nine roles in Navarathri and Kamal Haasan playing 10 roles Dasahavatharam as examples.

"There are opportunities for actors to portray many roles in foreign projects but here the maximum number of characters offered to an actor is two. I got the opportunity to not only impersonate a number of different characters but also act with the same characters in same frame," he noted.

On his successful stage play Charitha Hathak he notes, "The play ran for over nine years continuously even while the country was affected by terrorism. The script was always updated with current issues being included to cater to the needs of the public. People are still vying to see the play. It was first staged on July 7, 2000, at 7.07 p.m. I play seven different characters, as the title suggests, in the play. We need to train youngsters to play characters which are completely different from each other. If the authorities presents me with such an opportunity, I am willing to take up the task," he concluded. You can contact him on 0722251865.

'Charitha Hathak': Comedy with a lesson

Author: Sanath Weerasuirya

Source: Sundat Times Mirroe Magazine

'Charitha Hathak', a popular stage creation by Wilson Gunaratne will be staged at Elphinstone theatre on March 18 at 3.30 and 6.30 pm.

Described as the "Comedy of the Millennium" (Two Two Hours with Ko Ko Kodi), "Charitha Hathak" is directed by Wilson Gunaratne, while the scriptwriter is Chandratilak Gunaratne and co-producer is Ramani Fonseka.

'In western countries the actors are given a chance to play more than a single character. But in Sri Lanka it is not a common practice. Once Shivaji Ganeshan acted nine characters in 'Nawa Raathri'. That was a film and nobody has done anything more than double acting in local films', Wilson said.

I was always looking for a chance to create this type of drama. I'm having 65 different voices in my voice bank. It is just not luck but hard training, studying and practice,' have gone into it he explained.Wilson was a hotelier now turned actor.

"I am a professional actor now. I'm really happy because I have a vision. I have a message for the society in 'Charitha Hathak.'

You must give suitable positions to suitable people in the society. But unfortunately we do the reverse. Most of the top places go to unqualified personnel,' he explained.

'It is time to correct ourselves. That is what I'm trying to say in this drama. The message is given with humour,' he added.

'Charitha Hathak' has completed 37 shows within eight months, since its opening.

This is a unique presentation and certainly would be the newest experience for the drama lovers in Sri Lanka. This is the only stage play in Sri Lanka at present in which one actor portrays seven characters on the stage.

Kodituwakku from "Nonava-runi Mahatvaruni" Pappa, Prof. Pragnaratne, Transport Teacher Mr. Bastian, Prof. Marenzie (Italian) are among the seven characters. Also the cast includes Ramani Fonseka, Susil Perera, Premaratne Tennakoon. The versatile actor Wilson Gunaratne is using seven different voices with the appropriate costumes and make-up brilliantly to portray the above seven characters.

The story rotates around an aircraft which has been grounded on the runway. The pilot and administrator are unsuccessful in their efforts to get it airborne.

The uneasy passengers are looking forward to a smooth and trouble-free journey as they have been promised by 'Dreamland' Airways.

The pilot and crew members are unable to fulfil the passengers' expectations.

The pilot and the administrator do not give up their efforts in getting the aircraft airborne.

In this process, the ultimate result becomes not only a tragedy but also a comedy.

Art and Theatre of Tamils

Source: Jaffana ( Yarl - Paanam)

Even though in such fields as architecture, sculpture, painting, music and dance, the Tamils of the Peninsula (indeed, the Tamils of Sri Lanka) followed the trends and patterns prevalent in South India, there is one area in which they put their stamp of originality and indiganity: Naddu Koothu or Folk Play. It consists of dancing, acting and musical dialogue inextricably interwoven. Being a "vital element in the community life of the Tamil people," I it reflected in many ways the customs and manners of the people as well as the distinct phases of their social and institutional life. Though it was in a "moribund condition primarily because it has been denied the social status it once enjoyed, by the sophisticated society" 2 Of colonial times, much has been done in recent years to present it as the national heritage of the Tamils of Sri Lanka.

There were various types of Koothu: Vasanthan Koothu, Paraimela Koorhu, Kaman Koothu, Kathan Konthu, Vaciamodi Koothu, Thenmodi Koothu. Among these, the first two consist of singing and dancing without much of a well-knit story; in addition, they were merely repeated in the same form as they were written originally without any change or adaptation Kanurn Koothu focuses on the mythical story of Siva burning Kaman, the god of love, and Kathan Koothu narrates the puranic story of the hero Kathavarayan, a creature of Siva's consort, Parvati. According to Vithiyananthan, who was greatly responsible for making Koothu "modem" and "respectable", "episodes from North Indian Literature are enacted" in Vadamodi or Northern type and "South Indian and indigenous themes" are generally to be found in Thenmodi or Southern types; besides, these two types also have different music, dress and dance forms."

Further, Thenmodi is claimed to be more ancient than Vadamodi which is "akin to the modern dance".

Sillaiyur Selvarajan, a knowledgeable artist and poet, characterizes Thenmodi and Vadamodi in the following manner:

• Vadamodi

• Theme: Hindu epics and puranas
• Stress: Heroism or bravery
• More: Dancing
• Less: Musical Singing
• (New: North Indian Melodies introduced)

• Thenmodi

• Theme: Christian stories
• Stress: Love
• More: Musical Singing
• Less: Dancing

Selvarajan admits that before the advent of Catholicism, Thenmodi depicted Hindu themes, but those scripts are not available today. According to him, in Thenmodi there exist rich variations in singing from region to region, and from the manner in which melodies are sung, one can know the character of the people of a region.

It is important to note that Roman Catholics, who are credited with having preserved and fostered Thenmodi Koothu, made use of this form of art to propagate their religion during the time of the Portuguese and later to safeguard it under the Dutch. Rev. Philippus Baldeus, the Dufch Calvinist Minister, mentions that most churches of Roman Catholics had "scaffolds or theatres" near them where events from the Bible were enacted on holydays.

It is quite possible that the Catholic missionaries who came from Goa and from South India influenced to a great extent the Catholic tradition of Naddu Koothu and hence even the term Thenmodi might be a pointer to the South Indian connection.

Naddu Koothu, which according to many is derived from the

South Indin Therukkuthu, literally Street Play, of South India, was performed originally in the open air and usually on a circular platform, which was raised from the ground with earth or sand. There were no seats, no props and no change of scenes. Oil-torches were the only lighting devices. Actors moved in a circle or moved round about half the circumference in order to make themselves visible to the audience seated round the raised platform and to make themselves heard by it. Instead of the curtains, a piece of cloth was used behind which actors could stand before they were introduced to the audience by the regisseur of the play called annavi.

The staging of Koothu had its social or group dimension and dynamics. It was the collective "ritual" and festival of the entire village where it was held. Relatives of actors, singers and musicians and other people from neighbouring villages were invited to, and were present at, the performance.

There were some usual cernmoies (in many villages) that were connected with the production and performance of a Koothu. The ceremony of casting (for the play) was called saddankoduthal. Those who wanted to take part had to undergo an audition test. Certain roles were reserved for certain families for various reasons. Participants chosen for a role (or roles) were handed their parts written on olas or palmyrah leaves (nowadays on paper) by a person of eminence and respect.

After this initial ceremony, rehearsals went on almost every night for four or five months.

Next followed a ceremony called sathankai, which lasted from morning till late in the evening to which people from neighbouring villages were invited. This ceremony consisted in the wearing of anklets by the actors. This was followed by Kizhamaikkoothu in which actors, wearing the anklets, performed during the day.

Nearly a week before the final performance, the entire play was staged without costumes. This event was called velluduppu.

The day of performance had an air of festival. Crackers were fired and hospitality was extended to all the relatives and friends who had come to see the play from other villages. During the performance, friends and relatives garlanded the actors, pinned notes of cash on their costumes or donated ornaments of gold. After the performance, the entire cast and some spectators went to the temple to dance and sing.

Catholics went to the nearby church to sing a concluding benediction called mankalam.

Often, actors went in a group to houses of their relatives and families of prominence to receive due honour and gifts.

It was also usual for unmarried young men to get married after taking part in such a performance.

In conclusion, the following observations may be made regarding Koothu:

Firstly, the Naddu Koothu of the Tamils of Sri Lanka have preserved the fundamental conception of drama as a dance, namely the representation of a series of actions "through rhythmic motion". Indeed, the expression for dramatic performance in Tamil - nadagam adinan or koothu adinan -, which means he danced the play, aptly connotes the essence of theatre as traditionally understood by Tamils.

Secondly, Naddu Koothu has many elements of symbolic theatre. Many actions and settings may be and are mimed. "Consequently dramatists need not always look to the West for inspiration about pure or total theatre.

Thirdly, though most of the themes and stories of Naddu Koothu were and still are religious and moral in character, reflecting perhaps the didactical nature of Koothu, one need not do away with or even minimise the perennial value of such general and universal themes in favour of touching the "needs of the present society". This means that themes affecting the present should be developed without abandons the age old ones"

Fourthly, though Naddu Koothu was usually associated with people from lower strata of society earlier and "has necessarily been practiced in isolation", a new awareness has dawned in the last few years that it is neither Bharata Natyam nor Kathakali but Naddu Koothu which is the cultural heritage of the Tamils of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's unusual folk theatre

Author: Ethirajan Anbarasan Source: BBC News, Hatton, Sri Lanka

A young kamankoothu performer

It is an unusual folk theatre where actors as well as spectators perform together.

The subject deals with the life and death of Lord Kama, Hindu god of love and passion.

The whole village participates in the long-running theatre - a play can go on for 11 or 30 days - that eventually becomes a kind of festival.

At a time when many folk traditions are struggling for survival, kamankoothu, a centuries-old folk theatre is still being performed among Tamils of Indian origin in central Sri Lanka.

The Indian Tamils, mostly tea and rubber plantation workers, believe that they will become prosperous if they celebrate the festival of Lord Kama every spring.

While professionals take centre stage, villagers also take part, usually as a result of vows and prayers they have made at critical moments in their lives, such as before the birth of a child, or when they are hoping for a good harvest.

"Villagers sometimes make vows when they are in distress. Once their prayers are answered they will participate in the kaman theatre," says Anthony Raja, a Kandy-based researcher on folk traditions.

Hard life

A hard life faced thousands of labourers brought from southern India to work on the plantations by the British in the early 19th century.

Even my sons are not interested in this folk theatre. I am afraid it may die with me Pichaiah, director-composer

Social and geographical divides on the island prevented them from mixing with either the majority Sinhala or the Sri Lankan Tamil population.

Their only solace came from folk traditions which helped them to escape from their miserable lives in an alien environment.

Unlike many other folk forms, kamankoothu is a religious tradition as well as a form of entertainment.

The performance is tinged with sadness.

It has its roots in a legend in which Hindu god Shiva the destroyer reduced Kama to ashes when the latter apparently disturbed his prayers.

When Kama's grief stricken wife prayed to Shiva to return her husband, he agreed to restore Kama, but only as an invisible man.

During the festival, villagers split in groups while fiercely debating whether Shiva did indeed reduce Kama to ashes.

On the sidelines, street theatre performances showcase various legends from Hindu mythology.

Villagers play the roles of Hindu gods or demons.

Interestingly, the play moves beyond the stage.

Rituals and celebrations happen in different parts of the village.

The performance stretches over many days with plots, sub-plots and sometimes a play-within-a play. The songs, music and dance all contribute to the drama.

Tea garden workers form the major audience

"People will dismiss you in no time if your verses and narration do not impress them. We constantly try to add novelty in our performances," says Pichaiah, a kamankoothu director-composer from the central town of Hatton.

Unlike many other composers, Mr Pichaiah cannot read and write. But he learnt hundreds of songs from his teachers and now makes a living by performing folk arts among plantation workers.

Pichaiah regrets that kamankoothu does not interest the youngsters, who are more hooked on movies and soaps.

"Even my sons are not interested in this folk theatre. I am afraid it may die with me," he says.

Dr Henry Jayasena: a humble tribute

Author: Vivimarie VanderPoorten

I met him three years ago, in the make up room of a recording studio. Of course I had seen him on TV, on the screen, on stage; he was a legend. But here I was, slightly sleep deprived and nervous, trying to pin together the fall of my purple silk saree and trying to convince the make up guy that he was putting on too much lipstick on me. A familiar voice and his reflection in the mirror, a humble “hello, I am Henry”. Yeah, right. Like I didn’t know. I stuttered something to the effect of ‘of course I know who you are, I cant believe I am meeting you for real’. A gentle smile. A switch to mother tongue. “Ithin daruwa, mokadda magen ahanna yanney” I had a set of questions prepared. Written in English, translated into Sinhalese, mulled over. I had spent a sleepless night over them, wondering how you begin to ask someone about how they faced cancer and the death of a beloved spouse all in one go. I said "I have a few questions prepared, it’s mostly about how you coped with your illness, sir." The video we were recording was for an organization called Mithuruwela, a non-profit organisation set up to counsel cancer patients and their families, to create awareness about cancer, and to dispel myths about the illness. Dr Jayasena was a popular and well loved public figure, his words would matter, would make a difference. So here we were.

During the interview, before, and after, I learnt about strength and courage from this man who was famous for his dramatic and literary skills. When the video was aired I realised that tears filled his eyes once during the interview, and filled mine many times. Listening to him, I forgot that there were bright lights and cameras around us, so drawn was I to his experience and the eloquence of his telling it. He shared every incident, from the shock and denial to the long painful hours of chemotherapy to the arguments with his wife about eating, from the conversations with his doctor to how he coped with his treatment, and gradual recovery. In his words there was an incredible sincerity, and he spoke not only to all out there who have the illness already but to those who might yet fall victim to it. His voice broke for a moment when he related how his wife saw him through the illness but passed away suddenly, but he recovered quickly, no self-pity thwarted his fine sense of humour and his desire to reach out to fellow cancer patients. When he felt I was stumbling a bit, uncomfortable with the nuances of formal spoken Sinhala, ever sensitive, he switched to English. There was only one recording, and that was it.

I didn’t realise that exactly three years later he would be gone. I didn’t spend much time with him, it was only two hours perhaps. I walked with him to his vehicle and for some reason felt all choked up. He joked about incontinence. In some way he reminded me of my own father, long gone. It was good to meet you, he told me. Meeting you was a life-changing moment, sir, I said. I know, it sounds tacky, but I meant it. If / when I get cancer I will remember that sunny day in November when I met Dr Henry Jayasena. I watched the DVD of our interview again yesterday, and realised that he will keep inspiring people long after his death. “We may meet again, child", he said, in Sinhalese. I wish we had. May your Journey in Sansara be peaceful, and thank you for the courage we may all need in the future.