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The Mirror Making
Factory, which ran over the weekend at the Wendt, was perhaps not
the subtlest, most sophisticated or cerebrally challenging of Ms.
De Chickera's and 'Stages' productions. It certainly was the funniest. As ever challenging
the cosy assumptions of performance, this time, "The MMF"
had its genesis in a series of theatre workshops run for Sahanaya's
clients, all of whom have some mental illness. One does not have
to read about the man who thought his wife was a hat to feel that
'normal' and 'sane' are fragile and tenuous ideas at the best of
times. But having a cast with learning disability must surely have drawbacks. The tone of the production was strident rather than engaging, the didactic rhetoric sometimes bordered on convenient simplification and indeed de Chickera herself perhaps concedes this challenge when she says, "This experience taught me... to pace myself differently in order to work with people with varied understandings of life". And indeed if
one were to use the 'normal' yardstick, the production did, at least
on the second night, sag a little towards the end and the pernickety
might grumble that ads are easy pickings for satire. But such a
judgment is perhaps missing the point. Firstly the therapeutic value
of the rehearsal process for the cast, and secondly the value of
cathartic laughter for the audience. Though one might ask why it
feels so absurdly good to laugh together and loudly in public at
international thuggery. Perhaps to rise above our individual impotence. The plot is not an issue. A group of students, and vicariously the audience, is given a tour of the processes of the Modern Man Making factory, which takes individuals and turns them into mindless, conforming, standardized clichés. All goes well until the free thinking anti- hero, 'a reject rejected by the Rejects Department on the third floor basement' puts a metaphorical spanner in the works and leads everyone to salvation. It was a clear
cry of the human spirit and eventually of the triumph of the individual
fighting the relentless barrage of invidious signals on how he has
to 'fit in'. Perhaps naturally the most virulent humour was directed
at the most insistent agent, the media. The students led by the
irrepressible Ryan provide devastatingly funny groundling humour
as they expose the monstrous inanities of the Factory. Conceptually
it is Fritz Lang meeting Charlie Chaplin on the Rocky & Bullwinkle
show. Indeed the informing vision is perhaps even bleaker. The familiar
fear and loathing of industrial society is coupled with real bile
towards the advertising industry that epitomizes insidious mind
meddling and crassness. Juanita and
Keshan, the tour hosts were delightful parodies of the painted,
plastic, anally retentive, front-end mannequins, smoothly but mindlessly
parroting the corporate line whilst viewing the world through a
narrow end of private sector drainpipe. The stage design
with brash colours echoing billboards and front offices, created
a vibrant, larger than life backdrop, through the use of the MMF
logo across huge swathes of cloth. Functional, minimalist and cleverly
effective, the design and indeed the production had an easy surefooted
air. The script was eminently surgical: Clean, sharp incisions through layers of shibboleth to expose the nerve; a civil withdrawal leaving behind no discernible scar tissue. Surely the nugget of the evening, and there were many, must be the 'I Also 2003' award given to successful graduates of the factory. A diabolical barb aimed at that covert trade barrier that sanctimoniously masquerades as international standards. Nor were the
new age self-help management gurus spared. "The blue ball is
happy to see you too..." Many of the
cast commented on the hard work which had gone into the production,
clearly evident in the pace and huge energy on stage. Those familiar
with the deadening frustration of endless difficult rehearsals might
venture to second-guess the courage it took the majority of players
to make it to this. When one has
to make extra-ordinary effort to accomplish ordinary tasks what
strength of purpose it must take to accomplish extraordinary ones. How does one define a patriot? Thicker than
Blood’s dramatic storyline, set against the country's separatist
war, follows Suresh, a young captain in the Sri Lanka army. Wounded in
battle and now retired, Suresh is invited to join politics. Initially
reluctant, Suresh nevertheless agrees. After all, a man who believes
in nothing can be passionate about anything. But he will soon discover
that he isn't a man who believes in nothing. Does serving one's
country mean doing what you're told to do or doing what you think
is right? Can a patriot never see another point of view? He has
spent his whole life fighting the enemy. But who does he fight when
he's no longer sure who the enemy is? This gripping
play deals with the burning issues of our time with blunt honesty.
The cast comprises Mohammed Adamaly, Romany Parakrama, Shanaka Amarasinghe,
Arun Perera, Suranjith Tillakewardene, Arjuna Koralagama, Arrvinda
Salwatura and Delon Weerasinghe. Tickets are available at the Lionel Wendt throughout the day. The play begins at 7.30 p.m. Don't miss it. |
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