Saturday, 24 January 2015 03:05
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The immortal classic Jane Eyre will be given life by Vinodh Senadeera and his cast of budding actors at the Colombo International School auditorium on 6 February.
“It’s a beautiful play, dark and serious, but with a glimmer of light – a story that really speaks to you emotionally, and says that there’s always a hope for happiness,” says Amrita Khandpur, who plays the protagonist, none other than Jane herself.
Her drama career started at the age of five and has continued since then without interruptions, but “this is one of the most challenging,” she says, “since Jane is a character with a lot of depth, and we see a lot of the different sides of her over the course of the play.”
She appears excited and always laughing, but transforms totally and wears the role of Jane like a glove on stage. She scribbles notes on her script again, hoping that after printing notices, publicising on social media, and coordinating with the Prefects’ Guild, all the hours of dedicated work will produce gorgeous results.
“The story is fantastic,” according to Vinodh, who is the Head of Performing Arts at CIS. He is no stranger to serious, haunting plays, well known for his interpretations of Shakespeare and such classics, and has full confidence in the young thespians.
He directs the play with ease and finesse, making even the shiest, softest of teenage girls into confident actors. Walking around the stage, moving set pieces, reading lines, it’s very clear that the theatre is his home. Vinodh hopes the best for the play: “We’ve got a lovely tale and a talented cast,” he says with a smile.
Aashiq Fassuhudeen, who plays the intellectual, embittered Mr. Rochester, is a perfect fit for his sarcastic and boisterous character. He takes on the role with much enjoyment, along with the partial management of publicity and crew that comes with it. “We have some really interesting ways of setting up the show this year,” he hints, grinning, “and I’m quite excited about how it’s going to turn out.”
That sentiment is evident in the rest of the cast as well, as they file into the auditorium, laughing and learning their word. The kindly, simple Rivers siblings, played by Kalon Goonetilleke and Roosindu Peiris, rehearse with lively chatter (with laughs and jokes whenever a line turns out wrong), while the Rev. Wood and solicitor Briggs try to stay solemn and grievous ‘at the face of Hell’ (played by Imran Reza and Ahmed Hussain respectively).
Despite it being a serious play, the cast have a lot of fun, especially for the first-timers who are introduced to the kind of insanity that goes on backstage!
The most vivacious, excited character is the doll-like Adele Varens, Mr. Rochester’s French ward, presented by the dynamic Sharanya Wijesinghe. She brings life to the stage and smiles to all watching as she jumps and twirls and yells and hugs and generally messes up the whole house, seven-year-old that she is.
Sharanya laughs when we ask her the most difficult part of playing Adele. “It’s everything about her – making the garbled French-English words clear and comprehensible, for one!” She becomes more serious: “A huge part of it is her age; how does a seven-year-old react to adults having serious conversations? So I take the liberty of just losing myself and being absorbed in a magical world, away from the darkness of the rest of the play, on stage.”
Dark it may be, but it certainly looks passionate and intriguing. The actors are learning much and really developing as their dramatic skills are put to the test.
Jane Eyre directed by Vinodh Senadeera will be staged on February 6 and 7 from 7:30 p.m. at the CIS Auditorium. Box plan and tickets for the show will be available at the school reception from 26 January.
