The renowned and experimental take the boards

Saturday, 19 July 2014 00:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Stages Theatre Group presents ‘Walking Path’ and ‘Daasa Mallige Bangalawa’ next week

The experimental and the tried-and-true are being presented on one stage in a four-day drama extravaganza next week. Stages Theatre Group, headed by well-known dramatist Ruwanthie de Chickera, will be presenting these two plays from talented directors at the Lionel Wendt. The run starts with Daasa Mallige Bangalawa on 23 and 24 July, followed by Walking Path on 26 and 27 July. Both plays start at 7 pm.

The “family” unit

‘Daasa Mallige Bangalawa,’ co-directed by Ruwan Malith Peiris and Kalana Gunasekera, is an Indian tragicomedy adapted to Sinhala by S. Karunaratne from the original ‘Sakkram Binder’ by Vijaya Tendulkar. The play won seven awards at the State Drama Festival in 2004, including Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Direction, and returns to the stage after 10 years. The plot revolves around power, the female, self-centeredness and human relations. Peiris admits reviving the play was attempted at various times but the effort was stalled largely for financial reasons. “This is a drama that I strongly believe is extremely relevant to our current environment. Sri Lanka at the moment is trying to find itself and finding peace begins within the family unit. This is where we feel the most pressure, where our moral code is most tried and where we define change at the most fundamental level,” he told the Weekend FT. The play opens with Daasa, a fishmonger, bringing a woman the audience believes to be his wife home. It transpires that this is the seventh woman to enter life in the house and the difficult, often abused life that she leads, provokes deep contemplation within the audience. Daasa has given the woman freedom to leave whenever she wants but as long as she is under his roof she is virtually his slave. Daasa himself has a Muslim friend who adds a different perspective to his character and the events of the play. The narrative motivates discussion on a range of issues revolving mostly around god, religion, patriarchy, human nature and choices. All through five superbly-drafted characters and at times shocking storyline. “Something that struck me while doing this play is that people can use truth to subjugate someone else. This play caused controversy in India when it was first shown and received strong responses ten years ago in Sri Lanka and we are hoping for similar reactions from viewers this time as well,” Peiris said wrapping up rehearsals for the day. The cast comprises Jayantha Muthuthanthri, Dharmapriya Dias, Nilmini Buwaneka, Ravini Anuradha and Hemantha Iriyagama.

More than walking

The second play, ‘Walking Path,’ is a play about the new walking path culture of Sri Lanka – the culture of exercise, of healthy living, of beautification of the city and people within it. The play uses Colombo’s walking paths as a symbol to understand this emerging sub-culture in post-war Sri Lanka, and was created along the walking paths of Colombo, where the actors spent many days observing human behavior and interaction. ‘Walking Path’ is a play without words. This is because most of the human behavior around the walking paths happens without the noise of words and Director Jayampathi Guruge feels strongly that words trap or limit meaning. “When people think of a play with no language, they immediately think of mime. For this reason mime is deliberately minimised and music is also used sparingly.” Admittedly the play is bewildering at first with actors silently jogging around the stage, couples sitting together and confusingly one chap seemingly having a conversation with a sock puppet. Gradually sense creeps in and explanations filter into the mind. One couple gets a bit too physical, then hastily separate after feeling the weight of disapproving stares; this type of enforced morality is common on the walking paths, says Guruge, who insists he is trying to capture the subtle nuances that make up the structure of this subculture. “People who use walking paths are of a certain class but within that there is great variety and I want people who are part of this subculture to take a step out of themselves and see what they are part of. I also want people who are not part of the walking path culture to get an insight into it,” said Guruge explaining how experienced actors from both English and Sinhala drama have joined together to provide this bridge of sorts. “I’m not judging them,” he emphasised, “I’m simply trying to show what is and let the audience take what they will. If they find it interesting, or meaningful or deepening their understanding, then it’s an individual experience.” Guruge, a multidisciplinary artist, has worked as an actor, set designer, costume designer, lighting designer, stage manager and makeup artist since 2002. Guruge has a degree in Drama and Theatre from the University of the Visual and Performing Arts and recently toured India with Ruwan Malith Peiris as a part of the artists’ training program of Stages Theatre Group. Be a part of his endeavour to move beyond the spoken word to open a new dimension in Sri Lanka’s theatre spectrum. ‘Daasa Mallige Bangalawa,’ 23 and 24 July at 7 p.m. at the Lionel Wendt. ‘Walking Path,’ 26 and 27 July at 7 p.m. at the Lionel Wendt. Tickets for both plays are priced at Rs. 1,500, 1,000, 750, 500 and 300 (Balcony).