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A
game called Zardas
Zardas
is made up of Simon Lusby on bass, Misha Marks on guitar, Fiona
Pears on violin and Sum Samaraweera on drums. They're based in Christchurch,
New Zealand which has a large jazz community. Launched in
January 2002, Zardas released their first album Lis Sayas in May
and have plans for another soon. Sri Lankan-born
Sum Suraweera, studied Indian music from the time he was six, and
these influences are still evident in his playing. When he was 13,
he moved to New Zealand and studied drums at high school, playing
mainly jazz and rock. Sum moved to Christchurch in 1998 and kept
is passion for music alive while pursuing higher studies in computer
science at the University of Canterbury. He first met Simon at the
Christchurch Polytech Jazz School in 2001 and so began another song. Simon Lusby
began learning classical guitar when he was just 11 and started
doing gigs with his father's band at 13. He graduated from Christchurch
Polytech Jazz School in 1999 and has been performing professionally
with many bands since 1997 in bars, at festivals and concerts, on
both guitar and bass guitar. Misha Marks,
a long-time family friend of Simon was initially self-taught and
began having lessons only after leaving the West Coast (his home
town). After an exchange
programme took him to Barcelona, where Spanish music had a profound
influence on his playing, he drew much inspiration from flamenco
guitarists. He has begun to experiment by fusing flamenco flavours
with his own distinctive sounds to create a unique personal style. The only woman
in the band, Fiona Pears, is classically trained and became leader
of the Christchurch Youth Orchestra and first violinist in the Christchurch
Symphony when she was just 14. She went on to win two National Chamber
music competitions and at 18, became part of the well-known Blue
Swing Quartet. "I started
off with classical but then branched out, from boredom," she
said, laughing. Over the last several years she has fused classical
and gypsy-jazz flavours and played for artistes such as Tony Bennett,
Ottmar Liebert and the late Victor Bourge. On their six-week
tour of Sri Lanka, Zardas will be performing at popular clubs and
hotels around the island. The highlight of their tour, however,
will be their performance at the Tower Hall on December 12, backing
popular local artistes like Sunil Edirisingha, Athula Adikari, Lakshman
Wijesekera and Deepika Priyadarshini. They will also perform some
of their original compositions along with some famous jazz tunes. "Never lose the link between yourself and your instrument. Remember what it was that made you fall in love with it, when you first started to play," they say, with conviction. Join
our protest! Boycott the Compleat Wrks! ASS, would
like all members of the theatre-loving public to know that Shakespeare
is not just a playwright for one time and for one country, he is
a playwright for all time and for the whole world. ASS, is also
not just for you and me and we don't consider it to be my ASS or
your ASS. ASS, is for everybody and it is the bounden duty of all
right-thinking theatre-lovers to support the ASS in its quest to
stop the Members of StageFright&Panic from staging their so-called
"tribute to William Shakespeare". We are proud
to say that some of our braver members managed to infiltrate the
Lionel Wendt Theatre auditorium during the performances of 2001
and get a first-hand view of this abominable show called "The
Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr". Our members,
sat through the show and wept silently, shivered with rage and indignation
at this blatant attack on the most beloved of all English playwrights.
These so-called
thespians actually had Juliet being portrayed by a man! Imagine
the insult to the fair and lovely Juliet of whom Shakespeare wrote!
We also took great exception to the portrayal of Mark Antony in
the play Julius Caesar. StageFright&Panic actually portrayed
Mark Antony as stealing Julius Caesar's rings and his Roman Express
credit card during the funeral oration. We have done
extensive research on this matter and would like to say that there
is no historical basis to prove that Caesar actually carried his
credit card to the senate on the day he was assassinated. In fact,
we have copies of credit card statements, which prove beyond doubt
that the card was in fact kept by Mrs. Caesar and used by her after
the death of Mr. Caesar. During the
staging of Othello - Moor of Venice, the actors who played Othello
referred to Desdemona as Desi. This we find to be factually incorrect.
In fact, Othello did have a pet-name for Desdemona, and that was
Mona (it is also known that Desdemona's middle name was Lisa). There
have been many such inaccuracies both in plot and in character and
this play "The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr" is an insult
to the ASS. We appeal to
all members of the theatre-loving public to join hands with the
ASS and boycott this performance of the Compleat Wrks. Compleat Wrks
of Wllm Shkspr, presented by StageFright&Panic, directed by
Feroze Kamardeen will go on the boards at the Lionel Wendt Theatre,
from January 3-6. Contact: compleatwrks@hotmail.com |
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