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A
dramatic twist By 'drastic
turn', I meant that I was hoping for a change in the winners. Somehow
it was not altogether too healthy to see the same cast winning three
years in a row, and if they did it again, it would mean that they
had done it again for the fourth year running. Seeing the
first play, my spirits were lifted. It was good. 'The Island' by
Athol Fugard revolves around two characters, John and Winston, who
are in prison. John is serving a 10-year sentence, Winston is serving
life. Unexpectedly, John's sentence is reduced to three years. This
news drives Winston out of his mind, as he will be in for life. Winston captures
the love/hate relationship between the two, as he actually starts
to hate John, because he 'stinks of freedom' and then realizes how
much he would miss him. The acting was good. Especially Ranga Herath's
who played Winston. The next play
was refreshing. The script was excellent, full of humour and sarcasm.
It was "When Shakespeare's ladies meet" by C. George.
It was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone when they were not kept in
the dark. This is not metaphorically speaking - we were in the dark
most of the time, as the lighting was a disaster. The Ladies
meeting in Verona at Juliet's garden was everything but the embodiment
of sugar and spice. Katherine, the Shrew was there teamed up with
the lady who had to leave in a little while to attend to 'this pound
of flesh business'. Enter Desde-mona. "Oh Juliet, wherefore
art thou?" seemed to be her lines in this play strangely enough.
Bitterly caught up in the struggle over the handkerchief between
her Moor and the jealous Iago, she sought counsel over the bitter
mess that had ensued. Ophelia played
by Chandima Arambepola gave one of the best performances of the
night. Ophelia's sweet nature was captured brilliantly and her craziness
was portrayed even better. Juliet was
portrayed as a catty and somewhat bitchy lady who gloated over the
others that she was the only one who had managed to really get herself
a man. And Cleopatra. Played by Nishanie Jayamaha, she was excellently
portrayed as the man-eater with a somewhat insatiable sex appetite.
Brilliant! However, the
best part of this play was when suddenly the already dim lights
were dimmed even further, with the six women donning black cloaks,
and howling "When shall we SIX meet again? In thunder, lightning
or in rain?" At the end
of the play, one did get the feeling that these six justified Shakespeare's
heroines. Excellent acting, brilliant costumes, all ruined by awful
lighting. The Bear by
Chekhov is supposed to be hilarious. However, this performance left
much to be desired. And now to
the last play. No plot whatsoever. No theme, no hidden message,
absolutely nothing. But they were exceptional. Performed by the
winning cast of last year, the year before, and the year before,
"The Watched Pot" by Saki made no sense at all. The whole play
was built around the party held at Bramli Hall, which is Rahul's
stately residence. His tyrant of a mother having to attend some
function, the house is seized by a bunch of British Indians, to
hold a party!!! The point of the party, however is to get Rahul,
married. All the women want to marry him. It was indeed
funny to see him chased by so many women; especially as he was not
the stunning, god's-gift-to-women type. Quite the contrary actually.
Played by Kesara Ratnatunga, he was a big couch potato. A lazy bum
at that too, who seemed to prefer the married Mrs. Patel, played
by Champa Ratnatunga whose husband was 'half way between Hyderabad
and heaven.' The actors
and the actresses stole the show. Monika played by Michelle Goonesekara,
who looked positively evil in red, was amazing. Mrs. Patel, who
was supposed to look 'awful' with her 'awful' hair according to
the other women but looked really good, was even better. (In the
end she even carried off the Best Actress Award!) And Kris. The
typical English bloke who one immediately assumes is British, until
Gopal walks in and absentmindedly refers to him as 'Krishnamoorthy'.
Played by Sameera Attapattu, Kris was the judges' choice for Best
Actor. Another good decision. Finally enter the mother... Mrs. Malhotra.
Played by Heshani Samarasinghe, who did her part to perfection,
with the added advantage of an awfully atrocious Indian accent.
She crashes into the party at the last moment, and demands to know
what is going on. All plans are foiled. It is finally revealed that
Rahul is married- to Kavitha. All hell breaks loose with Mrs. Malhotra
having always hated Kavitha's aunt, who had tried to pass off a
vinegar paste for her famous mango chutney recipe. But then, where
would such a play be if everything did not work out for the best
in the end. It does. So to celebrate, they all dance. That did it.
They won. Again. They had it
all. Excellent acting, glittery costumes, brilliant directing, and
lots and lots of light. As for me, I head home. Yes, I think I had been hoping for too much. How
to save your hide No matter how
bad a day you're having, console yourself with the thought that
it could always get worse. That's the premise of Worst Case Scenarios
Online (www.worstcasescenarios. com), a Web
site designed to prepare you for those unexpected disasters and
personal cataclysms lurking just around the corner. Whether your
particular calamity is trivial or deadly serious, this site has
gleaned expert advice from FBI agents, survival instructors, stuntmen,
professional chefs, emergency medical technicians, security consultants,
dermatologists, fashion experts, bail bondsmen, and many others. For instance,
there are step-by-step tips (complete with diagrams) on how to survive
if your parachute fails, how to make fire without matches, land
a plane, use a defibrillator to restore a heartbeat, wrestle free
from an alligator, and that perennial favourite, how to fend off
a shark. As far as the
latter is concerned, apparently you should definitely fight back.
"If a shark is coming toward you or attacks you, use anything
you have in your possession - a camera, probe, harpoon gun, your
fist - to hit the shark's eyes or gills, which are the areas most
sensitive to pain." Then you should make quick, sharp and repeated
jabs to these areas. "Since
sharks are predators and will usually only follow through on an
attack if they have the advantage, making the shark unsure of its
advantage in any way possible will increase your chances of survival.
Contrary to popular opinion, the shark's nose is not the area to
attack, unless you cannot reach the eyes or gills. Hitting the shark
simply tells it that you are not defenceless." Better still,
the site provides sensible advice on how to avoid an unwanted encounter
with a shark in the first place. Apparently, swimmers should always
stay in groups, as sharks are more likely to pick off a solitary
individual. Do not drift too far from shore. This isolates you and
creates the additional danger of being too far from assistance.
Avoid being in the water during darkness or twilight hours, when
sharks are most active and have a competitive sensory advantage.
Try not to wear shiny jewellery because the reflected light resembles
the sheen of fish scales. Scuba divers in particular should avoid
lying on the water surface, where they may look like a piece of
prey to a shark, and from where they cannot see a shark approaching.
If all that
is not reassuring enough, the site's authors sensibly remind frightened
visitors that shark attacks are extremely rare. Indeed, bees, wasps,
and snakes are responsible for far more fatalities each year, and
in the United States you are 30 times more likely to die from a
lightning strike as a shark attack. Essentially
a promotional site for the books and TV series of the same name,
the Worst Case Scenarios site also features a handy "tip of
the week". I particularly liked the useful pointer for anyone
considering a rooftop-to-rooftop leap - a burglar or police officer
in pursuit, for instance. "Jump
with your arms outstretched, ready to grab the ledge if you undershoot
your mark. Try to land on your feet, then immediately tuck your
head and tumble sideways on to your shoulders." Sadly, it does
not explain what to do should you actually "undershoot your
mark". |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
year
the Kandy Dram Soc competitions would take a drastic turn.
