Music Review

Beautiful sounds amidst rhythm, pathos and muted tones

By Dr. L.M. Perera

Symphony Orchestra Concert on October 24 by the Ceylon Symphony Orchestra. Conductor - Ananda Dabare .Soloist Sujeeva Hapugalle .Works performed -Beethoven - Symphony No.6 "Pastoral" in F Major Rachmaninov's- Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor

The recent concert of the Ceylon Symphony Orchestra was undoubtedly one of the better performances this Orchestra has given in its 40 odd year history. The two items are popular and therefore vulnerable to criticism since they are both so familiar. Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony, his sixth and in the happy key of F Major, his first experiment in program music, was the first work performed.

The orchestra gave a good account of themselves despite the lack of strings; violins, violas, cellos and double basses. I would have preferred a more relaxed and tension free first movement "Awakening of happy feelings on arriving in the country". But things got better as the work proceeded. The highlights were the clarity of the French horns (a most difficult instrument), the competence of the bassoons, the first bassoon in particular, and the overall superior performance given by the brass and woodwind.

It was nice indeed to see the two clarinets sharing the solo bits in the two works, to the mutual benefit of themselves and the orchestra. The piccolo playing of the First Flautist and her flute solos were as good as usual. That a conductor whose speciality is the violin, as we all know, and whose playing we admire could get these other instruments to play better than I have ever heard them before, says a great deal for the painstaking preparation he must undoubtedly have undertaken to achieve this degree of excellence.

Was there a tame "Did-he-do-it" bird hidden somewhere in the orchestra who imitated the quail and the cuckoo (normally played by the oboe followed by the clarinet) after the nightingale-like trill on the flute? It was so realistic. The mechanical repetition of the same few notes on the bassoon and the oboe coming on the wrong beat which Beethoven deliberately introduced into the third movement of the "Peasants Merrymaking" poking fun at the rustic musicians also came through well. Ananda has realised the essentials of Beethoven's music which are based on dance rhythms and his "dancing" on the podium to the beat certainly helped to give zest to the orchestral playing. In the quieter quasi-religious movements like the Shepherd's song "Happy and thankful feelings after the storm" there could have been a greater degree of pathos and feeling.

This Symphony, unlike any of the others that Beethoven wrote, ends on such a quiet note with a muted horn softly echoing the yodelling notes with which the movement opened that the audience took some time to start the applause which this performance richly deserved.

One or two knowledgeable members of the audience did, however, give the cue for the loud and long applause that followed. The Rachmaninov's Second Piano concerto which always brings back memories of that great Ealing Studios black and white film "Brief Encounter" starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard, continued the good work by the Orchestra. This was one occasion where the Orchestra played better than the soloist. Sujeeva Hapugalle must have had an off day, as she failed to come off, including some glaring wrong notes. She is one who is ready to oblige all and sundry who ask her to play for various occasions and this could have affected her preparation for this concert. She is too experienced a pianist to let this affect her and I am sure we shall hear her back at her usual best. Lapses are inevitable in even the greatest and should be excused. Coming out I heard two ladies saying that the Orchestra had tried to perform works which were beyond their capabilities. They were obviously trying to show their one-upmanship but actually displayed their ignorance. They spoilt an otherwise enjoyable evening for me.

Thank you Ananda Dabare and the Ceylon Symphony Orchestra for this treat. May you go from strength to strength. Before I end I would like to appeal to all competent performers on string instruments in this country; violins, violas, cellos and double basses, to rally round the Ceylon Symphony Orchestra, of which I happen to be a founder playing member, so that we can have at least one orchestra in this country approaching international standards. Other countries in this region like Singapore and Hong Kong have such Orchestras and the string section of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra which we were privileged to hear is excellent.

Drama Review

We want more and more Gin!

By Alya Henry

Bravo! Weller (alias Robert) and Fonsia (alias Jeritza) Encore! Encore! Don't go! come back, we just got to know you! The clapping continued. Bouquets of flowers found their way onto the stage. As the auditorium slowly emptied of Colombo theatre goers, wellwishers crowded backstage to congratulate the artists on their performance. This was the closing night of The Gin Game, a play directed by Indu Dharmasena at the Wendt.

The Gin Game by D.L. Coburn, is a two act play, set in Bentley, an old citizen's home somewhere in the USA. It is a fast moving, unusual play, with only two actors on stage. The backdrop is a shabby unused verandah room of the home. Scrappy furnishings make up the dismal set: an old piano piled with cushions, a card table, two chairs, an easy chair beside a book shelf, a backless settee with magazines, a door and a window.

The play concerns three consecutive Sunday afternoons when visitors are expected at Bentley. Fonsia and Weller are two lonely old people who lose hope of ever having visitors and escape into this room to avoid detection.

Fonsia and Weller occupy their Sunday afternoons playing Gin. They come to know each other very well during these sessions. Gin is a card game which Fonsia in the beginning of their friendship allows Weller to teach her, and at every successive meeting Weller has to explain some of the forgotten rules to her. However, although Fonsia claims to know little of the game, no matter how she plays, she always wins, which upsets Weller, sometimes in a violent way.

Every session of Gin invariably ends with a quarrel, argument, and even a bit of violence and drama. The audience becomes privy to a revelation of the inner workings of old age. Through Gin these sorry people disclose their backgrounds, they were upright members of church and society; they were working/business people/mother/father/husband/wife. Eventually, each of them makes the embarrassing revelation that they are on Welfare with no hope of improvement. Sad but true. Parents grow old, live in nursing homes, become neglected by offspring and are forced to rely on Welfare. This is a fact, sometimes the young have no time for the old.

In The Gin Game Coburn gives a jolly, jaunty, jaundiced view of growing old in an old citizens' home. At every meeting of Weller and Fonsia, a cataclysmic revelation occurs whereby truths, and untruths float to the surface, and negate or juxtaposition themselves over other revelations, truths and untruths. Through the means of the Gin game the two old people are able to play out their preconceived ideas, prejudices, passions, dreams, dramas and sorrows. In the end the denouement comes as no surprise, the roles are reversed - the strong becomes the weaker and the weaker takes the upper hand.

The theme - reversal of role characteristics has been tried before whereby the strong and the weak interchange. The fragile female becomes the dominant figure, while the bullying boorish erstwhile blustering bloke departs, sagging at the shoulders.

A strange play comes to my mind I saw last year at the Wendt where Namel and Manel Weeramuni appeared in a translation of Dharmasena Pathiraja's Kora Saha Andaya in other words, The Lame and the Blind. In this powerful Sinhala drama the two actors play out a similar dynamic reversal of roles in their strange relationship.

The play Gin Game was done very well, a credit to Jeritza and Robert McCarter-no glitches, no memory losses, no miffed lines. A very enjoyable representation of doddering old age, done with panache by a stylishly jeune Jeritza, supported by the valiant and robust Robert.

Revivals on stage

Exactly 20 years ago, playwright R R Samarakoon produced a classic drama. It dealt with a simple, straightforward theme something which we all used to observe at least once a year passing over the Kelani bridge. The story of the slum dwellers who seek shelter on the bridge whenever a flood hit them. He called the play Kelani Palama. It became a momentous event on the Sinhala stage. It gave a fresh life to Sinhala theatre.

For the many who may not have seen this play earlier and for those who wish to enjoy it once more, it's indeed good news that it has been revived. They are all bound to enjoy it immensely. And it's even more encouraging to find that some of the leading players in the original cast are still there. It was a treat watching Neil Alles playing the key role of Chutte. Both he and Ramya Wanigasekera (Chutte's wife Matilda) are back in the cast along with Menike Attanyake (Rupawathie) and Padmini Diviturugama (Laisa).

Samarakoon's cleverness is in how he transforms what appears on the surface as a simple happening limited to a few, into a complex social drama. He vividly portrays the immense hardship that the downtrodden have to undergo. He uses the language used by these people in everyday life most effectively to give the message. The whole drama is so full of life.

Samarakoon has also revived his award winning drama, Ahasin Vetunu Minissu. First staged in 1971, the play was rewarded with four awards at the State Drama Festival- best original script, best production, best actor and best supporting actress. That play too dealt with the tensions and problems of the socially oppressed and revolved round an IRC (superbly portrayed by Ranjit Yainne in the original production).

An invitation from the London Cultural Forum late last year prompted Samarakoon to revive this play and a successful tour in London and Paris made him continue to stage it. In fact, it was one of the ten plays selected for the drama festival held in connection with the Golden Jubilee of Sri Lanka's independence.

Samarakoon is a veteran having produced his first play, Ledak Neti Ledek in 1966. Since then he has done nine plays, his last being Raja Kathawa (1993).

He is a good novelist too. He has over half a dozen novels to his credit. He is busy writing another. What about a new drama? He dreads to think of it. "It's not easy to produce a drama today. The costs have skyrocketed. It's no easy task to find the money," he says.

He had just returned from Mawanella after taking 'Kelani Palama' there for a show when I spoke to him. In spite of heavy rain, the crowd had been good even though the play was staged a couple of miles away in a school hall in the interior. "An encouraging sign," he said.

Recognising the best

The Ballet Panel of the Arts Council did it differently. Rather than deciding on the best ballet of the year, the best director and other selections, seven ballets which were presented at the State Ballet Festival were recognised with a cash award of Rs 25,000 for each ballet.

"It was to encourage raising the standards of ballet that we decided to do this," says the Panel Chairman, veteran Sesha Palihakkara. "The better ones were thus recognised."

The seven ballets were a mix of presentations by seasoned producers and more recent hands. Ballets directed by Nandana Balasuriya (Chulla Dhanuddara), Visha Manohari de Silva (Nupura), Soma Wijesekera (Sagali), Namal Weweldeniya (A)

Nilan Malgaspa (Kadatholu Nimeshaya), Swarna Basnayake (Samagiye Mahima) and Basil Mihiripenna (Amma) were the ones which were staged at the John de Silva Theatre.

The selections for the Festival had been done by a panel of judges comprising Shesha Palihakkara (Chairman), Somabandu Vidyapati, Suwineetha Subasinghe Perera, Lionel Algama and Vimal Dayananda.

It will be athletic, intimate

The highly acclaimed 11 member Watermill Theatre Company visits Colombo this month on the invitation of the British Council.

This highly physical and inventive company will be focusing their powers of imagination on two of Shakespeare's best loved plays: The Comedy of Errors and Henry V.

The Comedy of Errors -Shakespeare's shortest play-is certainly one of his earliest works, written in the late 1580s. This is the only play by Shakespeare to feature the word comedy in its title. A finely balanced mixture of pathos, suspense, love, force and fun - all of which is greatly enhanced by the audiences' knowledge of everything that the characters don't know.

Henry V - was presented at the Watermill and at the Shakespeare Festival in Neuss in 1997 and was a huge artistic and critical success in both England and Germany.

The play is told through the eyes of a squadron of soldiers who fought at Agincourt, and who are now fighting in the subsequent Wars of the Roses.

Prince Hal, rejecting his former companion, has now become Henry V. In order to delay the passing of an anti-clerical bill, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ely persuade Henry to invade France. Director Edward Hall's production is tough and even-handed: he does not flatter the English and he does not mock or patronise the French. This is a modern army wearing battle fatigues and fond of watching sport on television: these are British men at war, with the usual mixture of cynicism, dumb insolence, brutality, fear and guts.

Of 'Henry V', the Guardian Newspaper wrote, "this is such enormous fun.... the whole production is a firm riposte to anyone who thinks Shakespeare is boring." "The Company acting, with eleven men playing all the roles, is excellent, bold, athletic and intimate.... hugely enjoyable," said the London Sunday Times.

The Watermill Theatre Company will present two performances of the 'Comedy of Errors' at Lionel Wendt Theatre, Colombo on November 11 and 12 at 7 p.m. On November 13 and 14, they will present 'Henry V' at 7.00 p.m. and 2.30 p.m.

Tickets Rs. 300/-, 200/-, 100/- and 75/- (balcony) are now on sale at the Theatre and at the British Council's Cultural Affairs Office (Open weekdays from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.).

They will also perform in Kandy at the Trinity College Hall on Sunday, November 15, staging 'Henry V'. Tickets Rs. 200/-, 100/- and 50/- (balcony) are now on sale at the British Council, Kandy.

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