Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Rag – a slice of life
Music, dance, singing and pressing social issues make for a potent combination that gets the theatregoer’s attention. Rag will take you through all this, while leaving you with a different perspective. Smriti Daniel talks to the Rag team
It’s not everyday that you come across a musical that’s been 11 years in the making; what’s more, Rag remains incomplete. “Why?” I hear you ask. The closest I can come to answering that question is that Rag, for all practical purposes, is alive. It’s growing, it’s changing, and sometimes it even seems to have a mind of its own… Or then again, it’s probably all to do with its writer, director, composer and protagonist – Jehan Aloysius.

For Jehan, this musical has evolved into what it is now. Inspired by many true events and real people, Rag has the unmistakable ring of authenticity. No one’s pulling any punches here, and so the tale told in the musical is a harsh one, filled with violence and betrayal. However, according to Jehan “it’s a slice of life itself,” and so where there are tears, there is also laughter; where there is hatred, there is also love. Thankfully, (with regard to the sheer entertainment value of Rag) there is also music, fabulous singing, great acting and yes, dancing, lots and lots of dancing. Much of the credit for this is due to Avanti Perera and Deshan Cooray. Avanti, who actually performed the music, can also lay claim to having inspired one of the characters and is acting in this production. Deshan Cooray, a well known music director, is the choral director for Rag.

In this October’s Rag – In Concert, the best of the songs from the musical Rag will be featured. While the tunes and the lyrics come out of Jehan’s head, it is Avanti who plays them, layering track over track to create the final, almost orchestral, sounding piece. The voices in the choir, however, are entirely the province of Deshan. Under his direction, 20 young people have been mastering the art of projecting their voices, a skill which according to Deshan, is absolutely crucial. Apart from that technique, there is also the little matter of emoting. While the music does not fall into any specific genre, all of it is charged with emotion, reveals Deshan – an emotion that each member of the cast must express solely through their singing.

As there is no dialogue in Rag – In Concert, the largely inexperienced cast has had their work cut out for them. They’ve walked over fire to get here – in the form of competitive auditions and gruelling practices – and one thing’s for certain, none of their potential is going to waste. Jehan, who places greater emphasis on commitment rather than talent, has nevertheless managed to put together a remarkably talented, dedicated group. Many members of the cast are singing for multiple parts, besides juggling their acting and dancing. There are five main soloists – Dushyanth Weeraman, Christina Franké, Lakmini Cooray, Shehan Nelson, and Jehan himself. Sajad Shabdeen is the principal dancer, while Nigel Peters is also a dancer. Jehan is responsible for most of the choreography.

Rag the musical explores the issues surrounding ragging in a local university. It introduces a host of young people, all of them studying, all of them caught up in the ragging; there are the freshers and the seniors, the raggers and the anti-raggers. The story revolves around Joseph, an idealistic young man, who is determined to make a change. Standing side by side with Joe is Rukmal, who is obviously hungry for power.

Rukmal becomes a student leader and recruits the unsuspecting, idealistic Joe to be the pillar of his campaign and ultimately, the one who pays the highest price. Shehan Nelson, who will be singing the part of Rukmal, exemplifies the multi-tasking abilities of the cast. “In one scene, I’m a prominent anti-ragger (as Rukmal), and in the next I’m on stage beating up freshers with a pole,” he says. Making things even more complicated are the four women in love with Joe – Michelle, Sakunthala, Natasha and Neluka. Avanti describes it as the “love quadrangle.”

“Michelle is Joe’s love interest,” says Jehan, “She’s a very conservative girl – something that changes as she slowly opens up.” Christina plays the outgoing and confident Sakunthala – a friendly senior, who chooses to hang around with her juniors. “I’m known as ‘sassy fatty,’” she says adding that in the end her character is revealed as an achingly vulnerable and lonely young woman. Christina slips into her role perfectly, using her powerful, expressive voice beautifully.

Natasha who is a walking scandal is an individualistic and brave young girl. In her chosen uniform – miniskirts – Natasha finds herself in a very difficult predicament. Lakimini, who sings the part of Natasha among others, is relatively new to this almost Broadway-like style. Neluka – the last corner in the quadrangle – has the advantage of having known Joe since he was very young.

Amongst the young men, Thomas stands out as the boy who is almost entirely dehumanised by the ragging he is forced to submit to. Then there’s Namal who is considered quite the achiever and is an ‘outsider’ in some ways, having come from out of Colombo. Peter is the main antagonist and ironically, is even Joe’s friend at one point. Together they all discover that there are two sides to every coin – on one side ragging is fun, on the other it is hell on earth; on one side it works as a bonding experience, on the other it traumatises and isolates students – knowledge that pits them against each other in a violent struggle.

Rag obviously has a message that needs to be heard, and not just in terms of the stance it takes on the violence involved in ragging. Rag is all about breaking stereotypes and forcing the audience to see things in a different way.

Rag – In Concert is being staged as part of the annual CentreStage Festival (CentreStage Productions being the amateur theatre troupe formed by Jehan in 2001). In addition to the songs from Rag, the play Two In A Pit will also be staged. Two In A Pit promises to be absolutely hilarious with it’s depiction of what happens, when two well-known Sri Lankan personalities are forced to confront each other and themselves at the same time. When Ravi (Shehan Nelson) and Jean (Ruhanie Perera) find themselves trapped in the theatre pit, they realise that they have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide and are forced to face sculls, rats, spiders, the infamous theatre ghost as well as the passion they had thought lost.

The CentreStage Festival will be on from the October 28 – 30, 2005 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre from 7.30 p.m. onwards. Tickets are now on sale at the Lionel Wendt. The sole sponsor of the event is Cargills.

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