HFC students take the stage with a message for you and me
View(s):Shaveen Jeewandara has a chat with the cast of Meka Sonduru Lokayak, a Sinhala play about saving the environment
Chaos.. utter chaos! There’s screaming all around, children running amok and a group of aliens closing in on them, their arms flailing in robotic motion. There’s no way out as the hapless kids are cornered. With no hope left, they break into song and plead to know what they have done wrong. The reply certainly hits home – “You’ve done your bit in destroying this lovely planet of yours, it’s time we intervened”.
And that’s the opening scene of Meka Sonduru Lokayak, a Sinhala play by the students of Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya, which focuses on the timely theme of saving our environment from human malpractices. Adding a theatrical insight to this theme, the students of the Sinhala Union of HFC hope the play will deliver a strong message.
Meka Sonduru Lokayak was the brainchild of Principal Rev. Sister Chandani Jayasuriya who is a lover of nature and ardent conservationist. “She has always strived to instil the values of conserving the environment in the hearts of the teachers and students,” says Ms. Uthpali Premachandra, Teacher-In-Charge of the Sinhala Union. “Since it’s a theme that’s close to our hearts, the students were enthusiastic about it right from the start.” Aided by Enoka Munasinghe and Punya Gunawardena, she rallied the children and held several workshops to train them under the guidance of well known dramatist and playwright, Prasannajith Abeysuriya.
The play centres around a group of children who are getting ready for the school sports-meet, cutting down branches of trees and littering the environment in the process. This is when the aliens abduct them and cart them off to a distant planet. Written and directed by Prasannajith Abeysuriya, the plays shows how the kids struggle to escape and how realization of the consequence of their actions dawns.
“This is my first time working with the students of HFC, but their enthusiasm has inspired me,” says Mr. Abeysuriya. “They only needed a bit of fine-tuning, because a solid acting foundation was already laid. It has certainly been an enjoyable journey so far.”
Vishani Payoe (18), plays the role of a senior student who manages to keep the others calm in the face of adversity. “We were always comfortable with this theme and that made it easy for us to break into our roles,” she says. “The fact that we got the help of a director meant that everyone gained a sound knowledge of adapting to the stage.” The play was initially to be done by the primary school students, but the seniors got involved in guiding the young ones with the production.
Meka Sonduru Lokayak will be held on Saturday June 29 from 5 p.m at the school auditorium. The evening will also come alive with song and dance items to accompany the drama. Tickets are priced at Rs. 500, 750 and 1000 and will be available at the gate on the day of the show.
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