Many highs at 50 years of Bardic brilliance as Othello reigns
Best Actor: Semitha De Silva as Othello in St. Joseph’s College’s winning production in the Boys’ Schools category
It was a starry night of Bardic brilliance when the Inter-School Shakespeare Drama Competition celebrated its fiftieth year – half a century of fostering English thespians in the country.
The winners this year were Visakha Vidyalaya (girls) and St. Joseph’s College (boys), but the other schools were not ‘also-rans’ and the judges obviously were the most ‘challenged’ people in the audience.
The Girls’ finals
The second runners-up, Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya, did a good rendition of Henry VIII. Katherine of Aragon was great with queenly stormings while Anne Boleyn was feminine and alluring. An interesting role was the tart ‘Old Lady’ with her acerbic tongue.
Bishop’s College, first runners-up, did a delightful feudal Kandyan Merry Wives of Windsor. It was done as a nadagama, and Mistress Page and Mistress Ford were a Kumarihamy and a Tamil chatelaine. Complete with Kandyan stage setting, dancing, drumming, colourful cotton and merry local tunes, it was refreshing.
Yet it was clear why the judges finally went for Visakha. They did Othello (with its great scope for tragedy) and they brought out the emotions- Iago’s jealous scheming, Desdemona’s innocence, and a captivating performance (by Manekha Gomez) of Othello the Moor of Venice himself- noble, manly (hard to tell we were seeing a seemly Visakhian under the strapping black military garb!)- a tour de force for which Manekha won the award for Best Actress.
The other awards of the night were Best Supporting Actress for Nemdini Edirisinghe from Girls’ High School, Kandy, Best Portrayal in a Villain’s Role for Pabasara Peiris from Visakha Vidyalaya, Best Cameo Performance for Lawanya Wickramasekara from St. Nicholas’ International College, Negombo and the Best Novices for Our Lady of Victories Convent.
The Boys’ finals
Third runners-up were S. Thomas’ Mount Lavinia who staged Othello where Nevan Perera who played Iago brilliantly held us in thrall with his scheming and deservedly won the award for the Best Portrayal in a Villain Role.
Second runners-up St. Peter’s College did a hilarious scene from Merry Wives of Windsor.
First runners-up Royal College’s performance of a scene from The Tempest will forever be etched in our memory. It had an African theme and little Ariel was brilliant as were the comic pair Trinculo and Stephano, jester and butler to the King of Naples, their drunken antics having the audience in stitches. There was a Disney-like quality to this Tempest, with its music of the savanna and wonderful setting and even the comic acting.
Winners in the Girls’ Schools category: A scene from Visakha Vidyalaya’s production of Othello
Othello was the winning choice in the boys’ competition as well and the triumphant Josephians had stunning team spirit – keeping the whole stage highly-charged and crackling with tragedy. The Best Actor award went to the character of Othello masterfully played by Semitha De Silva.
The other prizes were Best Supporting Actor for Nawam Jayaratne of St. Thomas’ Catholic International College, the Best Portrayal in a Comic Role for Heshitha Abeyratne of D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo, Best Cameo Performance for Daniel Perera from Maris Stella College, Negombo, Best Stagecraft for St. Thomas’ Catholic International College while the Best Novices were Jaffna Hindu College, Jaffna.
“The Shakes” was organized by the Rotary Club of Colombo North and the YMCA, and this year paid tribute to late Rotarian Dulip Jayamaha, PC, who had been a guiding light of the competition over the years.
The Runners-up: Bishop’s College with Merry Wives of Windsor and Royal College with Tempest. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
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