CentreStage gears up for spectacular production of ‘Rag – The Musical’

The dynamic theatre company CentreStage Productions is gearing up for their most ambitious project yet – the spectacular production of ‘Rag – The Musical’, which will run for four performances on 2, 4 and 5 November at the Lionel Wendt Theatre, Colombo 7 (an additional on 6 November evening is to be confirmed). 

Rag is a dramatic musical that deals with the topical issue of ragging sensitively and intelligently. The performance has been a crowd-puller in the past, with full houses and standing ovations every night. The show has been featured in the foreign press around the world, as well as by the BBC. The show will be a fund-raiser for its theatre-based humanitarian work conducted through its StageHands Project.

‘Ragging’ (or hazing’) refers to the humiliating acts that undergraduates or ‘freshers’ are forced to undergo by their seniors as a form of initiation into an academic institution. These acts are not innocent fun and games, but have scarred students both physically and emotionally, causing them to drop out or in several cases to commit suicide. 

The show educates students and those in positions of authority on the ills of ragging, and is thus an excellent vehicle for introducing these issues and opening up a forum for discussion. As CentreStage Productions also has a psychosocial component though their ‘StageHands’ volunteer project, which is funded by the proceeds from their plays, a series of ‘Forum Theatre’ workshops are planned in selected schools in order build awareness of the issue and promote the production.

CentreStage Productions, founded by Jehan Aloysius, has produced excellent quality theatre productions, which have often sold out even before opening night. The musical, which is filled with memorable melodies and meaningful lyrics, presents a positive message of non-violence and unity which is relevant to students in all educational institutions.

The show is supported by The British Council, Mascons Ltd., Ambrosia. 

Message from Jehan Aloysius (Composer, Writer and Director) 

Rag is my most passionate project, and I’ve been refining it over 20 years! For me, writing the play was sometimes ‘inspiration’ and sometimes ‘documentation’. I have always been passionate about the issue of youth violence and bullying. It is something my University batch (or ‘Ala Gansiya’) was able to change in our own peaceful way many years ago. 

In fact, some of the most unlikely incidents in the play have their roots in reality – especially that moment in the reprise of ‘Power of One’ when the students spontaneously form a human barrier to stop the fighting. In addition, when one considers some of the major episodes and tragedies within the plot, the script has proven to be uncannily prophetic foretelling events were to take place several years after it was written.

I am especially grateful to my dearest friend and collaborator Avanti Perera, who has over the last 10 years, given so generously of her time and talent while performing the music with me. Also to Deshan Cooray and Eshantha Peiris who have written such complex choral arrangements which have enhanced the show.

This brand new cast is working so very hard to master the gamut of new skills necessary for this physically and emotionally challenging show. I am so very proud of the fact that all the leads are fresh faces in English theatre, who have not been featured before. My troupe and I are also grateful for the support of the British Council and Mascons who have thus far come to support us in some capacity. It is unfortunate to note however, that major sponsorship for home grown original theatre does not receive the financial support of corporate entities that prefer pre-packaged imports as viable commercial partnerships.

Thus, the theatre ‘Rag – The Musical’, just as our many original works over the last 16 years, will utilise ‘Theatre of Poverty’ techniques which focus on the maximum impact created by the energy and talent of the actors and creative staging, rather than the other elements. 

Message from Avanti Perera (Musician and Orchestrator)

I am so thrilled that RAG in its full and final form has arrived on stage at last! What a stimulating and rewarding experience it has been to have collaborated with Jehan for over 10 years, doing my best to make sure that every note in his head and every rhythm in his heart could be heard beyond our own ears, beyond the many “studios” both of us worked in and finally reached you the audience.

The sights and sounds of RAG and its talented cast bring back memories of the old days when Jehan, myself and the rest of our batch at the Colombo campus formed friendships and faced the many joys and challenges in our new environment, including “ragging”, of course. It is great to see a serious issue being tackled with sensitivity by this musical and I hope it will change the minds of students and parents who have second thoughts about local universities.

I look forward to RAG in performance with a sense of pride and happiness that I played some part in its production – it is certainly the opus grande of my dear friend Jehan, the most creative person I know.

Synopsis of the complete musical ‘Rag’

The plot follows Joseph, a regular ‘Colombo boy’ with strong ideals and a major dream to change the system of initiation in academic institutions. A true idealist, he seeks to end issue of ragging with ‘words’ not ‘violence’. 

Needless to say, this young man has to savour the bitter flavour of realism when he enters the gates of a local university. The past, in the form of his childhood soul-mate Peter who is now an influential senior and ‘pro-ragger’, emerges with a vengeance to fulfill a personal vendetta against the hapless Joe.

Relationships and cliques form as the ‘freshers’ (undergrads) settle into the new social unit of university life and its own politics. Within the ragging period of three months, Joe and his batch mates are subjected to various forms of physical and emotional ragging. Soon, even the peace-loving Joe is thrown unwittingly into the midst of campus politics as the anti-raggers and pro-raggers prepare to battle it out on the university grounds.

The musical is a blend fact and fiction, and is also based on personal experiences of the writer/composer Jehan Aloysius. The show does not aim to preach a message or take sides, but rather present both the amusing, non-violent forms of ragging as well as the horror of physical ragging and related violence in a balanced and objective production. Nevertheless, the message of non-violence is clear at the end of the production.

Genesis to ‘Rag’

The origins of Rag – The Musical are surprisingly disparate, but they do tend to follow the life experiences of the writer/composer Jehan Aloysius.

The germ of an idea was planted in the in Jehan’s mind back in 1994, in the Bonjean Hall of St. Joseph’s College, as a ten minute ballet of an unlikely superhero named Super Joe!

But it was in 1998 that the musical took a dramatic twist. Jehan was awaiting his entrance into the Colombo University and stories of ragging deaths were floating ominously in the air. On impulse, Jehan began to transform the music with new lyrics and songs into a plot about ragging. He retained some of the names and the element of the dreamer who makes a difference from the original fantasy plot, but the story was just beginning to be written. Or should one say re-written? 

While Jehan was researching the play, certain characters began to be modelled on real individuals and situations he heard of through informal interviews. But it was when he entered the Colombo University that year that a major section of the play began to write itself, as characters and situations he encountered each day, began to appear (almost in verbatim) in the early drafts of the script. 

By 1999, a first draft of Rag was printed and distributed to Jehan’s close friends. But it was in 2001 that Jehan first approached his batch-mate Avanti Perera with his musical, in which she already featured prominently as a character named Natasha. Careful persuasion led to an 11-year partnership as Avanti transcribed and performed Jehan’s score. 

Jehan later invested in his own home studio and taught himself sound engineering and also to play the keyboard by ear. Deshan Cooray was the next partner to join the project in 2003 and created the bulk of the harmonies many of the choral songs over the next two years. These harmonies would be enhanced with additional choral arrangements by Eshantha Peiris for the final performance in 2012.

The first workshop and concert of Rag – The Musical were performed at the 2004 and 2005 CentreStage Festivals, where the show’s main musical themes and plot were previewed as a work-in-process to a audiences. These previews received excellent reviews and even standing ovations, encouraging Jehan and Avanti to continue with the music for the songs, a task which took seven more years.

In 2010, it was finally decided that the full-fledged production would be presented in October 2012. Jehan’s home studio was visited by well over 250 singer/actors – many with no previous theatre experience, as Jehan was determined to cast the show with ‘unknowns’ who be given the opportunity to develop their talents and eventually become consummate performers. Jehan repeated this process for this new staging, which has resulted in a vibrant and energised new family of performers he lovingly calls his ‘Rag-a-muffins’.

It’s also no secret that working in one of Jehan’s productions would mean that every performer is required to learn new skills, both onstage and offstage. Apart from learning the requirements of a dance musical with lots of acrobatics and fighting, the cast also built the sets in true CentreStage style. In an original musical this task is tremendous, since every aspect of the show’s design has to be created from scratch. There are no reference points, nothing to copy or be inspired by.

This production means a great deal to Jehan and Avanti. For Jehan it’s something that has been part of his life for over 20 years. For the cast, it may be just six months, but no doubt it will be an experience they’ll remember for a lifetime!

‘Power of One’ workshops on bullying and ragging for students

CentreStage Productions and its humanitarian arm the StageHands Project plan to conduct a series of workshops with pre-adult and young adult students from educational institutions on the issue of ragging and bullying. This will be a continuation of its ‘Theatre for Social Change’ projects initiated in 2005.

Proposal: Date 5 August; open to students aged 16-22 (prior registration is a must – call 0772949767).

CentreStage Productions will organise workshops for students from schools and educational institutions using its proprietary system formulated for this purpose. 

The StageHands Team (from CentreStage Productions) and Jehan Aloysius will give students basic skills training in theatre and devising in order to allow them to actively participate in the program. 

The activities involve Forum Theatre, discussion, debate and performance. Each session will end with a debriefing. 

Aim: To create awareness on the effects of bullying and ragging; to educate students on the legal and moral aspects; to create awareness, encourage discussion and to find group solutions as possible courses of action when faced with such a situation.

StageHands Team: Each workshop will be conducted by Jehan Aloysius and a team of up to six other ‘StageHands’.