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The
inside story And since he’s the expert, let’s look at the people and stories behind Excalibur. It’s a late evening, and we’re at the Lionel Wendt rehearsal room, anxious to witness the rehearsal of Jehan Bastians’ and Neidra Williams’ mystical play. As we enter the hall we see Neidra, Charith, Shanuki, Mario, Prasad and Adam in their attractive costumes, with make-up on; they’re ready to take us back to the golden age of King Arthur. King Arthur, the tragic hero of the play, is played by Mohamed Adamaly (Adam). King Arthur brings glory to the kingdom of Camelot, introduces the idea of equality, and is loved by everyone. And suddenly, everything and everyone seem to turn against him, even the people he trusts the most. According to Neidra Williams, the scriptwriter who also plays Morgan La Faye, Adam’s role is the most difficult. “We were somewhat worried about whether whoever was going to play the role of Arthur would not bring the pride, joy and anguish realistically,” but they were thrilled to find that Adam who took on the role did it “brilliantly.” We saw what she meant when we watched the cast rehearse Adam’s favourite scene where he discovers that his beloved queen and most trusted knight have betrayed him. His serious, mature demeanour contrasts with the young knight Lancelot, and he portrays the tragedy of Arthur’s situation clearly. “The last sequence shows Arthur in a very pathetic state. It is true that here he finds peace by breaking down,” says Adam. He feels that Arthur is unfortunate and by the time he realises his situation, it’s too late. “Arthur was crumbling between love, glory and responsibility.” Still, “I prefer playing the bad guy, Arthur is a little too good for me,” Adam says with a grin. Theatre has been his first love since the age of nine, and since then he has participated in countless full-length productions. “What is important is to focus on the play, the seniority and experience are minor facts,” he added. Merlin, the caretaker of Excalibur and Arthur’s guiding voice is played by Prasad Pereira. He is the only person who remains faithful towards Arthur. “He helps Arthur till the end, and is obviously very sad when Arthur is betrayed,” says Prasad. Arthur is like a lost son to him. Though he disobeys him sometimes, Merlin’s love for Arthur is always constant. This ‘talkative lad’, as he’s called by the cast, is very focused on his work. “I like my part, this is something different to the roles I usually play,” he says. “I like the sense of power,” he adds with a smile. According to Prasad, Merlin has the power of “runes” which speak of the future. He is a “mystic guy who controls the balance of power,” which Prasad, with his years of theatre experience, depicts very artistically. The part of Guinevere, Arthur’s queen, was exactly to Shanuki de Alwis’ taste. After all, “What girl doesn’t want to play a princess?” Guinevere is a different kind of princess though, because she too is essentially a tragic character. She may not have to go with the knights on crusade or go to war, but she fights a desperate battle of her own. The conflict for Guinevere is love, two powerful, loyal loves that she can’t decide between. As Shanuki explains, “I’m in love with two very different people.” First, Guinevere feels loyal to King Arthur and looks up to him almost as “a father figure.” This was the man she was promised to in marriage, and it’s her royal duty to obey and follow him. But then, she falls in love with Arthur’s first knight Lancelot. With him she feels a passionate love that “she never knew existed before.” So Guinevere is left to “choose between what’s right and what feels right.” It’s a choice everyone has to face sometime, though usually the fate of a kingdom doesn’t hang in the balance. Mario de Soyza agrees. “In that day and age it was a huge deal to betray your king.” That’s why there’s so much emotion in the play: betrayal, deceit, etc. All that emotion made the role of Lancelot a welcome challenge for Mario. All his other roles have been very natural, where he didn’t have to concentrate too much to get into character. But with Lancelot, he says, “You really have to get into it.” He still finds it hard to grasp the gravity of the story. The betrayal is just not the same thing as a girlfriend cheating on her boyfriend, it’s on a completely different level. Neidra puts it clearly, “The queen committed treason by falling in love with Lancelot.” Neidra knows she’s witnessing the betrayal of Arthur, but she really likes the love scene between Guinevere and Lancelot because it’s “controlled theatre.” Her other favourite scene is her fight, as Morgan La Faye with Merlin. The love scene may show tension and pent up emotions, but her magical duel with Merlin is all about the display of wit and power. Charith De Silva, who plays Mordred, doesn’t think so highly of his mother Morgan. He has been brought up to hate Arthur because of his mother’s grudge. She’s selfish because she wants the throne, and she can only get it through Mordred. Charith doesn’t think any better of his own character, saying he’s “completely evil”. Jehan and Neidra didn’t think he had it in him to play such a role, and it’s been difficult to act against his nature. Still, Charith likes a challenge. With this play, Jehan hopes to “shatter people’s image of King Arthur.” Most people know the story, and about Arthur’s achievements, but they find it hard to believe that “Lancelot stole Guinevere.” This play takes that idea and “pushes it in their faces.” Mario agrees that the play will definitely affect the audience, “It’s so intense, the audience will become involved. It’s one of those plays they’ll get engrossed in.” Be
a part of The Legend Of Excalibur at the Lionel Wendt on July 23,
24, and 25 at 7.30 p.m. Tickets are priced at Rs. 500, 350, 250,
and 150 for the balcony. The box plan is available at the Wendt.
The production is sponsored by Graphitech (Pvt) Ltd, Art TV, and
the Sunday Times. |
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