When a young woman flouts the conventions of her middle class family, she is looked on as being subversive.
A group of theatrically and musically inclined past Bishopians begs to differ; and they pool their talents to state their case in Sthri Lanka which will take place on Februray 18 and 19 at the Bishops College Auditorium.
Written by Sandra Fernando and directed by Nafeesa Amirudeen with music composed by Shyama Perera, ‘Sthri Lanka’ examines the role of women in Sri Lanka. It is set against a historical background featuring three great women who were its queens.
The playwright cleverly mingles ancient history with contemporary Sri Lanka as she delves into the role of modern Sri Lankan women juxtaposed against the role of women of ancient days with flashbacks from history revolving around the ancient queens.
“There is something about Sri Lankan women, which makes society look up to them and respect them as leaders,” reflects Sandra. No other country in the world comes near us. This is the country that produced Asia’s first queen – and that was way back in 47 BC.
This is the country that produced the world’s first democratically elected female head of government. So there is something unique about Sri Lanka and our women and it has always been so.”
The journey made by Sri Lanka in ancient times as well as its 450 years of colonialism, is something that has always fascinated Sandra, who spent several months buried in research into Sri Lankan history and its iconic women.
“History will always give us an account of our kings- whether good or bad- but what about their wives? There is so much that remains unsaid; taken for granted, says Sandra. “It always drives me mad to hear people talking about Sri Lankan women forced into submission. Where history has so much evidence which points otherwise, I just want to whack them!” she says, indignantly.
Despite her indignation and the promise of Sthri Lanka to make an interesting new social comment, it is by no means an angry protest at a possible misjudging of Sri Lankan women and society. The play does strive to prove a point, but it does so while effectively blending music and comedy into the performance. From waltzes to Hollywood, Bollywood, Broadway and rap genres, Sthri Lanka has it all. “It really provides a nice contrast to the occasional seriousness of the play,” comments Safra Deen, whose character will perform a rap song. Having been trained as a classical singer, breaking into the rap genre has been a somewhat interesting challenge for Safra. “Basically,” she says, “I now have to do everything I have been told not to, but I’m really enjoying the process of it.”
“Rap is such a delightful genre: it’s so ambiguously not song and not performance poetry; it’s so clever and sophisticated in its techniques, even if it is vulgar and offensive. Take the vulgarity, profanity, booze and weed out of it and it is entirely my cup of tea,” elaborates Sandra. An avid classical music buff, Sandra spent months researching rap for the purpose of the play.
The cast, made up of past pupils of Bishop’s College, includes Angela Seneviratne, Ashini Fernando, Shanuki de Alwis, Kamanee Hapugalle, Manique Mendis, Neomi Deen Minuka de Silva, Safra Deen and Dmitri Gunatilake.
The role of the male protagonist, Thaththi, is played by Mohamed Adamally, a close associate of Bishop’s College.
The play is presented by the Past Pupils Association of Bishop’s College, in tribute to the teachers- past and present- of the school.
The Official print media Sponsors are The Sunday Times and The Daily Mirror.
Tickets for the show are available at the
Bishop’s College Auditorium. |
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