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Hamilton Case and the chronic ICES case
By Rajpal Abeynayake
The International Centre for Ethnic Studies recently invited a few people who have not read a book for what had the promise of being a scholarly study of it. The book was the award winning “The Hamilton Case’’ by Michelle de Krester. Dr. Pradeep Jeganathan spoke on the book in the wider context of literary criticism of Sri Lankan writing in English.

Jeganathan asked somewhere midway for a show of hands of those who had read “Hamilton Case.’’ I found myself to be the only person in a room of around twenty who put my hand up. Subsequently Jeganathan spotted another two in a hardly visible corner of the room.

But that didn’t prevent the ICES from being besieged by the voices of people who offered their opinions on the book – its stylistic aspects, and its niche as a vanguard publication of sorts for a certain genre of creative writing.

Among these aching voices that seemed to be suffused with the jargon that noisily conveys vapidity with gravitas – was that of the guy who Chaired the session. Someone – a critic who should put into shade at least a half a dozen of ICES scholarly crew – later mused whether the good librarian who invites persons to chair ICES sessions cares a jot about the suitability of the folk he asks to preside over the proceedings, which are purporting to be of at least some scholastic value…

Pradeep Jeganathan is no doubt a scholar in the best sense of the term, but that didn’t prevent him for a moment of having to, in the backslapping manner, kowtow (almost) to the Chairman’s view that “form does not matter in the book -- it’s the content.’’How did the Chair for instance, arrive at that conclusion anyway?

After having not read the book – going by the show of hands, at least.
Many in the audience surpassed the Chairman in their abilities at deducing the book’s literary value without setting eyes on it even in a cursory glance.
This may have been an extension of the so-called classic debate on form and content, but for a book such as Hamilton Case, there can be no discounting its stylistic attributes. For good measure, we reproduce here just a snatch from one of the book’s randomly chosen paragraphs. (See box).

Saying that style doesn’t matter, particularly talking in the context of a book as superbly written as Hamilton Case, is like asking whether the guy who conducted the proceedings that day could have done better than Shakespeare at writing Julius Caesar?? But in scholarly-dom of the groves of obfuscating NGO-academia, where being a charlatan seems to be a qualification -- such obtuseness passes. It passes as stuff to pass the time with.

When this writer suggested that Hamilton Case was brilliantly written, Jeganathan with a supercilious smirk snorted “I don’t know about brilliant’’. The day Jeganathan can write prose of the kind that’s displayed alongside I wouldn’t mind borrowing that expression on his face to talk about good writing…

But in the meantime consider that Hamilton Case won some of Australia’s most hankered after literary awards and was reviewed in Time magazine with special mention of its stylistic attributes as opposed to content. The Time reviewer reproduced that line about revellers in colonial Ceylon who could, after a champagne night, ‘cross the lagoon on a sea of corks.’

The day the Chair of the ICES pow-wow can write prose with such simple but winning turn of phrase, I’ll concede to him the debate on whether content matters over form in the novel.

Until then we can perhaps believe that ICES is a place where sincere and indubitably able scholars such as Jeganathan can de-construct what palpably is wholesome – to its hard technical and mechanistic elements. For a lark, I asked whether ‘Jeganathan can “situate’’ the book Hamilton Case in two sentences – whether he can, in that invaluable jargon of NGO academic-speak, ‘locate’ the book in a crystalline distillation.

Jegnanathan did not rise to that – which at least shows he is not beyond redemption. He is certainly not beyond repair, really. His argument on content is taken by this writer – with severe reservations; reservations of the type he cannot identify with. As this writer suggested from the audience that day “if you have nothing to say, style does not matter. If you have something to say, then form is vital because you can say what you have to say very well, or say it very badly.’’

At ICES, they have nothing to say, really – that’s those other than Jeganathan. For instance, how could they say anything about Hamilton Case?? These scholars pontificate – without the benefit of having read what they are hectoring anybody about.

For such audiences – and Chairpersons – we have to concede, style doesn’t matter a whit. They are talking bilge. You can in every sense (.. and in a literal sense by considering that they hadn’t read De Krester….) say that they can be forgiven: for they do not know what they are talking about….

Lankan conductor’s Canadian baton charge
A Juilliard Graduate, he has already made his Carnegie Hall debut
A young Sri Lankan, Dinuk Wijeratne, has recently been appointed Resident Conductor of the Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestra (Symphony Nova Scotia). Dinuk, aged 26, will take up the two-year appointment in August .

"This is such a great opportunity for someone my age straight out of school" remarked Dinuk, a graduate of New York's famous Juilliard and Mannes Schools, as well as England's Royal Northern College of Music. In the classical music scene today, hordes of young conductors continually vie for the precious few positions available with professional orchestras worldwide. Contenders are usually fresh out of college, with Masters Degrees to their name, but most spend several years competing for jobs. "As the ratio of orchestra to conductor is several-to-one," says Dinuk, "It is, understandably, highly competitive. While music-directorships are held by experienced conductors from an older generation, they themselves do need younger assistants to help them to elevate the orchestra to greater musical heights and create new vistas/horizons and facilitate the routine rehearsal process."

Dinuk's position with Symphony Nova Scotia, will be similar to that of any assistants - i.e., covering the repertoire of their Music Director, German maestro, Bernhard Gueller – plus added responsibilities of taking charge of the orchestra's 'Pops', Educational, and newly instigated Contemporary Music Series.

Straight out of Juilliard, he took up post graduate professional studies in conducting, at the Mannes College of Music under David Hayes, Director of Orchestral and Conducting Studies.

After only a year of formal training, Dinuk made his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall in September 2004, directing none other than the world famous, star cellist, Yo Yo Ma and his Silk Road Ensemble.

With them, Dinuk performed the music of several international composers, even premiering an original composition, written specially for the occasion, entitled 'Out of the Karmic Blue.'

He graduated as a conductor in May 2005, his studies at Mannes College culminating in a recital performance of Iogr Stravinsky's 1945 Firebird Suite, with the Mannes orchestra.

Things fall apart for John the happy bigamist
Catch the Performing Arts Company in “Caught in the Net”- a sequel to “Run for your wife”
By Marisa de Silva
For 20 years John Smith the taxi driver, has had a happy life with his wife, Mary. He has also had a happy 18 years with his wife Barbara. Well yes, he's a bigamist, and he's got away with it for 18 years! That is until John and Mary's teenage son and John and Barbara's teenage daughter accidentally logged on to each other on the internet - and to their amazement, their fathers appear to have rather a lot in common…Now they've got to meet and their father will stop at nothing to make sure they do not! The Performing Arts Company, under the direction of Nafeesa K. Amiruddeen and produced by Mohamed and Nadira Adamaly, presents “Caught in the Net”, on August 5-7 and 10-14, at the Lionel Wendt.

This fast paced, side-splitting sequel to the eighties mega hit “Run for your wife”, is in the same tradition of the earlier plays. Featuring most of the same lead characters, an additional few characters have been introduced, adding to the general trend of confusion and utter chaos. John Smith (Mohamed Adamaly), the two timing taxi driver has quite successfully managed to maintain both his families quite successfully, without the truth being exposed. However, things go completely out of control when the unforeseeable occurs and his two children (Kevin Francke and Ashini Fernando) meet online and decide to meet each others fathers, due to the uncanny similarities between the two fathers. Little do they know that the reality behind their father’s similarities is due to them being the same guy.

The plot begins to thicken when John recruits the help of his worthy accomplice/tenant, Stanley Gardner (Sean Amarasekera). What with having to concoct far-fetched lies to save John, and having to lock up one or other of the characters in different bedrooms so as to prevent a showdown, Stanley ends up going deeper and deeper into the mire! John in the meantime is exhausted as a result of running between his two homes in Wimbledon and Streatham, trying to put a stop to the two teenagers’ ‘rendezvous’.

Stanley’s senile father “Dad” (Arjuna Wignaraja) adds to the general state of hysteria by hobbling onto the scene at the most crucial moments, managing quite effectively to aggravate matters still further; if that were even possible, considering the already catastrophic state of affairs. The two wives (Neidra Williams & Wanda Godlieb) although seemingly oblivious to their husbands’ misdoings, seem to have a few surprises up their sleeves as well!
The cast comprises seven very able thespians, most of whom are well known faces amidst general acting circles, starting with the producer cum veteran actor, Mohamed (better knows as Adam) Adamaly, who’s acting prowess is no secret to the theatre going public. Playing the pivotal role of the bigamist taxi driver John Smith, Adam, will once again put audiences in fits of laughter as he attempts to save his two families from falling apart!

However, this time around, unlike in its prequel, the lead role is not John’s but of Stanley Gardner’s. He is John’s faithful partner in crime. Playing his role to perfection, Sean, lives up to his full potential. Having made quite a name for himself in his previous performances including “Run for your wife” and “Don’t dress for dinner, Sean goes from being completely calm to thoroughly flustered and irritated to regaining his composure once again and being pleasant, with the greatest of ease, proving that he’s quite a ‘natural’.

Kevin, known for his performances as Marius in ‘Les Miserables’, Simba in the ‘Lion King’, Paris in ‘R&J’ and the Notary in “Well Mudaliyar, How’’ is put to the test, as he takes up the role of playing Gavin, John’s eighteen year old son. Neidra and Wanda take up their roles of Barbara and Mary Smith (respectively) from where they left off in the play’s prequel, with just a few minor changes to the roles of the original characters. Being an actress cum directress, Neidra, having 15 productions to her credit, is quite proficient in carrying out both these functions equally well.

A more mellowed down version of her passionate and seductive self, Barbara has become quite the calm and composed health food freak cum yoga addict.
In sharp contrast to Barbara, Mary plays a very concerned, and more conservative, lovable, yet highly excitable second wife. Wanda’s over 10 years of experience too is reflected in the deft ease with which she carries off her role. The cast also celebrates the return to the country of schoolboy star, Shakespeare Best Actor, Arjuna, who takes up the challenge of playing Stanley’s decrepit father “Dad”, to perfection -- right down to his every shuffle, hobble, hearing imparity and womanising. Ashini Fernando bites her teeth into her first major full length comedy, as the obstinate and slightly mollycoddled daughter of John, Vicki Smith.

Incidentally, knowledge of events in Run For Your Wife is needed to enjoy this sequel, which is completely self contained. Costumes will be done by the sisters-in-law combination Yasmin and Sakina Akbarally and Jehan Bastiansz will engineer the sound effects, which in this case includes a cacophony of doorbells and phone tones.

The performance is sponsored by Commercial Bank and co-sponsored by Suntel WOW. The official electronic media sponsor is TNL Lite, while Speitra has designed the promotional campaigns.
Tickets are available at the Lionel Wendt.

Antigone: A classic act of talent
Reviewed by Leelamani Haththotuwegama
On July, 15, 16, 17 and 18 at the Chapel of St. Thomas’ College, the audience was treated to as rare an experience as one could get on the English stage, when students of S. Thomas’ gave a classical exhibition of creative art of the “purest ray serene”. I refer to Vinodh Senadeera’s production of Sophocles’ Antigone. It turned out to be a highly rewarding evening for lovers and students of theatre and classical literature.

From the moment the spectator started walking along the path which was lit on both sides with old-fashioned torches, he was put in as ideally receptive mood of sobriety for the display of stagecraft that was to follow.

A word or two about the play, “Antigone” by Sophocles. It’s a play set in ancient Thebes. The struggle between two brothers Polynices and Eteocles, sons of Oedipus, for the throne of Thebes, ends in death of both. This forms the background of the play. After Polynices’ invading army flees, Creon, the new king of a tottering and unstable Thebes, buries Eteocles with honours, but issues an edict forbidding the burial and funerals rites for Polynices who turned traitor to his country, on pain of death by stoning. Antigone, one of the daughters of Oedipus, is determined to flout the decree of Creon and bury Polynices, even though it means death for her. Thus “Antigone” is concerned with the age-old conflict between demands of man-made laws and eternal unwritten divine laws.

This universal problem crystallizes in the conflict between Antigone’s strong conviction of her duty to religion and family, and Creon’s belief in his duty to his state and the public. But at the end it boils down to a contest between two stubborn and self-righteous individuals who cling passionately to the principle of right they believe in. But the tragedy of these two characters hinges on Haemon, the lover of Antigone and son of Creon and it is through his death more than that of Antogone’s, that the final epiphany and thereby the humbling of Creon occurs. It is the Chorus which tries to resolve this triangular tragedy by appealing to God’s law. The exceptional beauty and the rich lyricism of the choral odes and Antigone’s lament alone would have merited Sophocles to be remembered as a great tragic poet.

Did the Thomian play rise to the expected tragic stature? Was the cast convincing in their performance? One can say it was good theatre on both counts. There was a fine display of youthful talent supported by an exceptionally powered and moving chorus finely choreographed. The chorus was clear and exquisite. So was Creon’s role exploited and developed very imaginatively.

Strangely enough Antigone failed to capture the sympathy of the audience or its attention much. Nevertheless Ismene’s character was evoked convincingly by the young actor who played her role, and managed to draw more sympathy than Antigone.

It may be that the director was more concerned with portraying the willful and self-righteous aspect of Antigone’s character. The audience also was treated to the strange spectacle (not the spectacle in Greek tragedy) of the dead body of Euridice in paroxysms of laughter! (performance on the 18th).
The sentry’s role was adequately played. In a performance of this nature, or any dramatic performance for that matter, every role counts and contributes to the sense and essence of the play. Queen Euridice failed to fulfill this expectation. But there was such a display of creative energies and skills, an accumulation of the multiple resources of the theatre that one tends to overlook these minors lapse.

The production was backed by clever lighting. There was a musical score which was very effective in invoking the tragic atmosphere and setting of the play. All in all S. Thomas’ College seems to be able to unleash a load of talent.

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