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Compleat
turnaround I, a mere spectator,
was amused. And feeling guilty about it. Because all I (and generations
of students) had learned up to date was turned upside down. I'm
not talking just about the (until now) holy works of the Bard himself
but also all that stuff I had learned about being politically correct
and sensitive to others' feelings, etc. Oh! I was amused, I was
laughing my sides off. On the way home I kept remembering this or
that bit and smiling to myself (I would have laughed had I not been
on a bus. How would I explain the laughter when I was already a
subject of curiosity to many on a bus at 10.30 in the night?). Then
I came home and laughed and laughed and laughed. I kept remembering
all the drag roles Adamally played superbly. Especially when as
Ophelia in Hamlet he 'drowned' with a dramatic glug, glug, glug.
Oh, and yes, the thousand and one times he barfed. But I wish he
had spared the photographer in the front row. He didn't seem very
amused and left early. Hamlet in 30 seconds was terrific. Now why
can't our teachers summarise it like that? The 'Othello Rap' I didn't
get, but I did enjoy Adamally's Saturday Night Fever dance moves. Kamardeen and
Anuruddha delivered line after line with straight faces. I found
the falsetto tone and innuendo highly entertaining. But the play
within a play was a little bit offensive. Did it have to be so explicit?
The rendition of all of Shakespeare's histories in one (was it rugby?)
match was - I thought - fitting because after all, history is kind
of a game with the buck moving to and fro between key players (or
those near and dear to them). But I'm not
trying to analyse the production, this is a kind of 'What I felt'
bit. What I felt was that it was excellent comedy if a little cruel
sometimes. But then, comedy is about cruelty. We laugh at something
or someone. That thing or person won't necessarily find it funny,
but then, if it tickles us... Like all those who enjoy the Hindi
influence; it's fun to make fun of other people's tastes and thereby
feel 'Phew! How lucky I am'. Just like bad breath and body odour
and the countless little things we can laugh at when we are not
connected to them. This is why I felt doubtful and guilty about
finding all the gags funny. At the back of my mind was, "Should
I be laughing at this?" But while part of my mind pondered,
part of it was in stitches. The humour was good and sometimes subtle
enough to be appreciated by the fine tuned part of my brain, not
just at the baser level. In the end
I spent the evening being tickled pink, and that's not something
that happens often. Not quite like this. I was glad I watched it
this time around. I found it entertaining and thought provoking.
I relished Adamally's rendition of 'What a piece of work is man'
towards the end of the Compleat Wrks. It was an opportune moment
to slip it in - I for one was following a similar trend of thought
- and I'm glad he "got it over with". Kamardeen's tribute to a friend at the end blended with the play. I realise how welcome noise could be sometimes. And how frightening the absence of it could be. After watching the Compleat Wrks I felt like I was given something to ponder over - and relish in some way or another - for some time. I'm content with that for the time being. - Nirmalie Boom
time in Colombo for Absence Of Colour The all male
band AOC marked their 10th year in the music scene last September.
They have the Mainstream Entertainment Group and a record label
to their credit. Although essentially an R&B band, they've all
had their initial musical exposure in gospel or church music. Their (rather
ironic) band name signifies that music goes beyond the colour of
your skin or your ethnic background. "It relates to each and
every one of us, no matter what we look like or where we come from.
So there is actually an Absence of Colour when you consider music
and how it reaches out to people," the band members explain. So who are
these guys? Stephan 'Pfun Pfun' Perry, guitarist cum vocalist of
the band, says he took to music at an early age as his older sister
was learning the piano. But her interest was shortlived and Stephan
moved on to taking guitar lessons. "You can't move around with
a piano but you can with a guitar, so I prefer it," he says,laughing.
Stephan was heavily influenced by the likes of Carlos Santana, B.B.
King and Jimmy Hendricks. Twin brothers
Preach and Danger Jackson are the lead vocalists and founder members
of the AOC. Although nearly identical in appearance they seem complete
opposites in nature. Danger (if his name doesn't already give it
away) is the louder, more animated of the two. The two brothers
differ from dress codes to speech. "When we were young Preach
used to be the one interested in music theory and piano lessons
etc., I couldn't be bothered with all that kinda thing," says
Danger. However, there
was one thing the two brothers vehemently agreed on, and that was
that they could teach some of their music teachers back home a thing
or two about music. "You must live music if you teach it. You
have to know music and have a hands on experience or at least go
out and take a look at the music world and see how there are no
specific rules and regulations to stick to," say the twins. Said Preach,
"In my opinion, every artiste takes something from another.
Each artiste we hear may have something that we can learn from.
We do and as a result we enrich our musical style." "We started
out with a totally different band with a different name but after
a while, we wanted a complete makeover. So we were on the look out
for new talent. Stephan did the sounds for us at a few gigs so it
was relatively easy to get him on. Nathan Johnson on keyboards and
Toby Murphy on vocals, were the last two additions to the band."
The five of them then signed up as AOC. "We look out for a
bass guitarist and drummer when the need arises but Andre Robinson
on drums and Eddie Allen on bass play with us on a regular basis,
so we consider them to be band members too," adds Stephan. Their guest
artiste Quisha Wint is quite a vibrant personality, and according
to the guys of AOC, a budding star. She hopes to release her debut
album at the end of this year. Her first musical experience was
at church and gospel music has influenced her singing in a big way.
She's an active member of her parish and still continues to sing
in church whenever she's not on tour. "I know that whatever
talents I have has been given to me by the Lord above so, just knowing
that is enough to humble me. It keeps me grounded," she says
modestly. Soon after
College, she moved on to get her diploma in jazz music. Her younger
sister Karla too seems to be interested in the music and might even
sing with her in the future, says Quisha. Keyboardist
Nathan Johnson learnt music the right way by learning all there
is to know in theory etc. Originally from San Francisco, he too
was influenced by church music. So what music
do they like to play? "Everything from rock to pop to reggae
and rap but our speciality's R&B," says Nathan. "My
mum's a music teacher and all my cousins are in bands so, music's
definitely in the blood. I too grew up singing for church from the
time I can remember." Absence of
Colour, Maybe you're right, and Boom are some of their originals
and their remix of Olivia Newton John's 'Physical' is supposed to
be one to remember, with a change of beat and rhythm and the addition
of rap. Here since
December, they are quite at home in Sri Lanka. "Although on
a global level there seem to be many barriers to break, especially
since we're from the US, when it comes down to the real thing there's
nothing to it. The people here are brilliant and we feel totally
at home, says Stephan with a broad grin, whilst the others nod their
agreement. AOC will be
in Sri Lanka until the middle of February so, all those who haven't
been 'Boomin', please do. |
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