Mirror Magazine

Arch rivals, the Capulets and the Montagues meet on the streets of Verona. Tybalt takes on Mercutio in an enthralling battle, resulting in the latter’s death. Defending his late kinsman’s honour, Romeo challenges Tybalt, finally driving his sword through him. Inside the chamber rooms, Juliet is pacified by her doting Nurse, who promises that her beloved Romeo would eventually come for her...

Impressing their audience tremendously, these famed characters from the Bard’s greatest romantic tragedy, were brought to life by a group of talented young guys recently. Apart from the fact that they did their school proud by coming in third runner-up at the Shakespeare Drama Competition 2006 held last week, they even took things one step further. Creating history in the Drama Comp, the award for Best Supporting Actor in the Boy’s School category this year was shared by four members of the cast of Maris Stella College, Negombo.

Adjudged the Best Boy’s School in the Outstation Boy’s Schools category at the semi-finals, this talented bunch continued to impress their audiences, their strength being the consistency across the entire cast. Extremely comfortable in their roles, from the well-choreographed sword fights, to the passionate conversations between the two young lovers, the actors seemed to be having a ball on stage.

Directed by Marissa Jansz and Delon Weerasinghe, the medium used for the interpretation was the minimalist approach. Highlighting the fact that it was a school production, prominence was given primarily to the acting. The performance was an edited version of the original script, with sections of four scenes in chorological order, arranged to get a coherent hold of the story.

Dilanjith Fernando, Ainsly Christle, Jehan Gunasekera and Dehan De Croos have one thing in common, apart from their love for drama that is! Whether it’s minutes after an exciting final, during drama practices or at a casual chat, their unlimited energy levels are the one thing you remember. Catching up with these young actors earlier this week, being in their vibrant presence was an experience in itself.

Playing Juliet:
Involved in drama since 2004, this was the first time Dilanjith (16) got to play a lead role, and impressive he was… or should I say she was? Playing Juliet, complete with all the essential nuances, the experience had been undoubtedly different. “When I was told that I had been selected to do the role, it was a little difficult to agree to it. Playing Juliet was definitely a challenge, but I took it up, and the end result was not that bad after all!” he said. So how did he manage to get the hang of female characteristics? “Seniors, who had played female roles before, pitched in, and helped me get the feel of it. They taught me how to walk, and the other mannerisms I needed, to get into the mode of playing a female part.”

With his O/levels coming up this year, balancing the performance with his studies was hard, but his parents were extremely supportive. For Dilanjith, the entire experience was a combination of team work, lots of effort and getting to know people. Playing cricket for school as well, continuing with drama seems to be very much on the agenda in the future.

Changing moods:
Life was breathed into the brave, loyal and witty Mercutio through Ainsley (18), who portrayed the changing moods of Romeo’s faithful kinsman almost flawlessly. “I’ve been acting in school performances since 2000, and this was an interesting role to play. I enjoyed playing Mercutio from the minute I got auditioned for the part,” he said, adding that this was his first time playing a main role.

So what about unforgettable incidents leading upto the performance? At this point everyone joins in to relate how on one Thursday morning, they all came in late for a practice, which resulted in their beloved director losing her temper with them. “She scolded us for about twenty minutes straight, without a break. No pauses, full stops or commas. Only run-on lines,” said Ainsley, proving that they had definitely gained a thorough knowledge of Shakespearean speech at the very least! Planning to be involved in drama in the future as well, this thespian is also a gifted basketball player for the school.

The good friend:

According to Jehan (18), who played Benvolio, acting out this particular character’s personality was quite a rewarding experience. “This was a balanced, peaceful and calm character, and it was quite enjoyable playing the part. Since Ainsly and I are good friends in real life as well, that made it easier to bring out the connection between Benvolio and Mercutio,” he said. Having played Mark Anthony last year, he has been involved in drama for the last two years. “Watching the development in my character, as well as my own acting was very rewarding. I also lost whatever stage fright I had in the past,” he said.

The youngest among this talented foursome, Dehan (14), did an impressive job with the role of the Nurse, giving it just the right blend of humour, authority and maternal instinct. “When I was told that I had to play this role, I knew it would be quite a challenge, but I made no objections! It was an entertaining character to play, and since we had excellent guidance from our directors, as well as our teacher-in-charge, things were made very much easier,” he said, adding that they gained lots of knowledge on Shakespeare through the production. Though his ambition is to become a computer engineer, he hopes to be involved with drama for as long as possible.

All four guys joined in to express their heartfelt gratitude to the teacher-in-charge Nirmala Wijedasa, who had undoubtedly been the backbone of the production. The support given by their principal Brother Sunanda Alwis and the rest of the school too was tremendous. Whether it’s Shakespeare or drama in general, these are a bunch of guys with potential to take the stage, hold your attention, and leave you with one unforgettable experience.