MAKARAKSHAYA - THE DRAGON

What awaits our drama culture?

2011-02-16T21:37:00.000-08:00

Senior dramatist Dharmasiri Bandaranayake delves into lessons learnt at Bharat Rang Mahotsav, New Delhi, and questions where our theatre is heading in the absence of a national cultural policy
By Randima Attygalle
Bharat Rang Mahotsav (National Theatre Festival), an artistic effort of the National School of Drama, New Delhi, instrumental in bringing dramatic skill of reputed artistes from all corners of the globe to one common dais, marked its successful 13th milestone in New Delhi last month.
Hybridity being the hallmark of this much acclaimed international theatre festival, it seeks to create a common platform for the veteran and the novice – the latter to imbibe the former.
Senior dramatist Dharmasiri Bandaranayake’s Makarakshaya, an adaptation of Yevgeny Shvart’s The Dragon, was honoured as the Sri Lankan representation at Bharat Rang Mahotsav which was concluded on January 22. The Nation spoke to Bandaranayake upon his return from Delhi, to share his experience of this ambitious theatrical venture and many a stumble block he and his cast had to battle with, in order to make the performance on a foreign soil a reality.

“Dramatists from all over the world can submit their work for this international drama festival, but to be eligible for performance, they have to be accepted by a panel of judges comprising leading Indian names in the field of drama. Makarakshaya was accepted for performance among nearly 80 plays selected for the festival,” Bandaranayake briefed about the selection criteria.
Bandaranayake’s maiden foreign performance at Bharat Rang Mahotsav was an experience of tri-fold dimensions for him. “It was no doubt a refreshing theatrical experience, to have had the opportunity of sharing and learning from one another’s experience, to be exposed to some of the icons in the filed of contemporary global drama and at the same time, it aroused lot of self-pity, experiencing the respect of the Indian Government and the step-motherly treatment of our own,” frustration unmistakable in his words.
Call for a national cultural policy
Claiming the largest participating cast of 38 artistes, Makarakshaya’s journey to New Delhi was by no means a rosy one. According to Bandaranayake, many appeals to the authorities at the Cultural Ministry to seek their support in this endeavour were fallen on deaf ears. “As an artiste who had been contributing to local drama, since early 70s, I questioned myself if I deserved to be called a Sri Lankan artiste, if I were a Sri Lankan citizen in the first place, to be receiving such step-motherly treatment by so called watchdogs of art and drama in this country,” Bandaranayake said further, extending his sincere thanks to SriLankan Airlines who responded to his plea with concessionary air tickets and Hivos-Netherlands for their financial patronage. ‘Festival of Dramas’ staged by Bandaranayake as a fund-raiser for the journey was washed away in the torrential rains which drenched the entire city which further handicapped the cast, who was salvaged by mutual friends through financial patronage.
Absence of a national cultural policy is identified as a lacuna which needs urgent addressing, believes Bandaranayake who draws a parallel with the Indian experience. “There has to be a yardstick which determines on what grounds certain artistes are supported and others are shunned. A national policy should not be tainted by party colours, but it should necessary be a watchdog of creative labour,” elaborates Bandaranayake.
Building bridges
A solid bridge of the ‘veteran and the amateur’ perceived at the Bharat Rang Mahotsav is another fine illustration of a rich theatre culture in breeding, lessons of which should inspire the local drama culture believes Bandaranayake. “Drama cannot thrive in isolation, the youth should be willing to be inspired by the veterans, the reason why we had a rich culture of drama nourished by artistes such as Sugathapala de Silva, Dayananda Gunawardene and Henry Jayasena. But sadly we don’t see an authentic drama culture today, but a culture no different to tele-scripts. In such a context, the ability of those going with the bandwagon to explore a classical play is a big question,” added Bandaranayake.
“Drama is all about sharing, exploring,” cites Bandaranayake who identifies a timely need of a harmonious blend between the Sinhala and English theatre. “This is a rejuvenating experience, to be enriched by the finer aspects of each school,” he cites. Bandaranayake, notable for his fine exploitation of the ‘English theatre skill’ in his plays such as Makarakshaya, Trojan Kanthawo, Ekadhipathi firmly believes in going beyond the conventional boundaries of drama-making.
“Staging a Sinhala play at the Lionel Wendt or harnessing predominantly the ‘English theatre skill’ does not mean that it’s catered to ‘Kolamba hathe’ theatre-goers, this is the narrow mindset which often goes against enriching a rich drama culture in the country,” Bandaranayake opined further.
Drama is beyond a mere script, it conceives actors of stature. “Many of our cinematic legends were moulded on the stage. For instance, when Tony Ranasinghe starred in Delowak Athara, we flocked to see not the cinema actor then but the sensational actor of charisma we saw on stage. Personality of an artiste is nourished through the calibre of art he advocates. We remember legends such as Henry Jayasena, Prof Sarachchandra, Sugathapala de Silva, Dayananda Gunawardene and many more of this stock of dramatists for the stature and integrity they sought to champion on the stage,” concluded Bandaranayake.

http://www.nation.lk/2011/02/13/eyefea3.htm

Makarakshaya goes to Bharath Rang Mahotsav in New Delhi

2011-01-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

http://www.nsdtheatrefest.com/dragon.php
http://www.nsdtheatrefest.com/festival.php

Sri Lankan dragon goes to Delhi

2011-01-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

by Bhagya Senaratne

As I walked in to the Trikone Cultural Centre, I was greeted by a smiling Dharmasiri Bandaranayake who is shouldering a lot of responsibility at the moment in getting his cast to Delhi for the 13th Bharat Rang Mahostav (Indian Drama Festival).
This will be the first time a play directed by Dharmasiri Bandaranayake will be staged in a foreign country! Therefore the excitement was obvious while he spoke to me. The reason he stated was “my casts are too large.” Due to this simple reason, not many people approach him to take his plays out of the country.

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake

I watched this play for the first time last July, as it was recommended to me by a friend. I noticed it has a simple story line, which addresses complex issues. The story is woven around Elisa, an ordinary girl who is soon to be taken away as a bride by the city’s guardian, The Dragon. She is the ‘chosen one’ for the year, The Dragon’s choice, merely because of her beauty. She reluctantly accepts her plight and tries to prepare herself mentally for the unforgettable day.

It’s a public secret that, once chosen, a girl will never return. A handsome young worrier, Lancelot, without the shining armour, walks in to this city. He sees the depression amongst a certain section in society. He wants to help change the plight of young Elisa. The story then moves on to depict the means deployed by Lancelot in his efforts.

Letting me in on a few changes that will be made to the play, Bandaranayake said the play will be shortened as the time given to them at the festival is approximately two hours, while the original play is around three hours. Therefore “we will be consulting and receiving advice from the cast as well as those from outside, when editing the play,” said Bandaranayake. For example, there will be changes from the very beginning, from Lancelot’s monologue as well some of the cast will be changed.
He further stated that they will try their best to retain the contents of the play and restage it, that is its relevance to the present times. Besides depicting the plight of a young girl, this play also draws on a number of other important issues. One such issue is the corruption in governance.

The Dragon, be it from China, Sri Lanka or Russia, is merely a symbol that showcases this. Corruption is an issue that is seen in many countries around the world, and an issue that is been pressed to remedy, calling for transparency in governance. Another, is simply power.

How this tool is utilized by the one who has access to it, to get their work done and mostly to achieve their selfish goals. Bandaranayake stated that “we all have a dragon in ourselves” and it is due to this fault in humans that tyrannies come across. Therefore, it can be seen that this play concentrates on a universal theme which concentrates on corruption around the world.

“Makarakshaya is different to other dramas as it has the characteristics of an epic drama” says Bandaranayake, who went on to state that the dramas staged now a days are very realistic. In this drama he says one will travel to “a different world.” He stated that there will be many changes to this restaging from the time when this same drama was performed in 1985. Bandaranayake stated that it will be a challenge, but he will give his best to increase the production standards before taking it to Delhi.

“Theatre must be an exaggeration of real life,” stated Bandaranayake. However, for this to be done properly, the actors must be trained well to exaggerate on stage. “Unfortunately, majority of the actors nowadays are not trained properly, therefore they can’t reap the maximum benefits from theatre stated Bandarayake melancholically. He went on to state that if the theatre is developed further, the actors themselves will benefit from it.

Bandaranayake further highlighted that the theatre or culture in Sri Lanka does not get support, unlike sports in this country. He stated it is depressing to see this downfall in our country, where culture is not promoted. Bandaranayake further stated that this is not only an opportunity for himself and his team, but an opportunity the entire country received. Therefore, he stated that he will work towards promoting the drama to bring glory to the country as this is the only drama from Sri Lanka to be performed at this esteemed festival.

I am glad to see this play representing Sri Lanka at this festival as I feel the issues addressed in this are relevant not only to a certain era but, are over time, relevant to another place and time in history. The issues discussed in this play and the portrayals of character, I feel, are universal. Therefore, the restaging of Makarakshaya in Delhi is appropriate.

The team comprises both the cast and crew who will be going to Delhi for the 13th Bharat Rang Mahotsav, which will be held from the January 7 to 22. Makarakshaya or The Dragon will be staged on January 14. Directed by Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, Makaraakshaya known as The Dragon in English is a play written by Soviet playwright Yevgeny Shvarts.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/01/05/art28.asp

‘THE DRAGON’ goes to India

2011-01-06T22:28:00.000-08:00

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake’s stage play vies for festival honours

The new production of veteran dramatist, actor and film director Dharmasiri Bandaranayake’s stage play Makarakshaya (The Dragon), has been selected to represent Sri Lanka in the Bharat Rang Mahotsav Theatre Festival (Indian National Drama Festival).

The festival will be held from January 8 to 22 in New Delhi, India.

It is organised annually by the National School of Drama in India.

Stage plays representing various countries will be staged in the festival.
All facilities, except travelling expenses, for the group of the play will be provided by the Indian Government. Budget of the travelling expenses for 40 members of the group including air tickets and delivery of stage properties adds up to Rs 1,250,000.

A theatre festival has been organised from November 26 to 28 at Lionel Wendt, Colombo, to raise funds to cover this expense to represent the play, Makarakshaya (The Dragon), in the Bharat Rang Mahotsav Theatre Festival (Indian National Drama Festival). The invitation provides Sri Lanka an opportunity to expose Sinhala drama to the South Asian cultural scene and consolidate rebuilding peace and reconciliation.

Following plays will be staged in the festival:

Eka-Adhipathi – November 26 – 6.45pm
This play obtained nine awards at the State Drama Festival including best direction, best actor, best set designing and best make-up in 1976 and 1,507 shows have been staged all over the country including the new production.

Cast: Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, Janaka Kumbukage, Malkanthi Jayasinghe, Sampath Thennakoon, Chamila Peiris, Daya Edirisinghe, Lalith Rajapaksha,Chulla Jayawardhana, Vasantha Vittachch, Leonard Cooray, Lalith Rajapaksha, Lal Peris, Upul Nishantha, and others Music: Premasiri Khemadasa
Makarakshaya (Sinhala translation of the play The Dragon written by Soviet playwright Yevgeni Shvarts) –

November 27 – 6.45pm

This play obtained 11 awards at the State Drama Festival including best play, best direction, best translation, best music, best set designing, best choreography and best stage lighting in year 1985 and 911 shows have been staged all over the country including the new production

Cast: Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, Yashoda Wimaladharma, Dharmapriya Dias, Janaka Kumbukage, Lakshaman Mendis, Leonard Cooray, Chulla Jayawardhane, Warnathunga Senanayake, and others Music: Nadika Weligodapola, Choreography: Jehan Aloysius

Trojan Women (Sinhala translation of the play The Trojan Women written by Greek playwright Euripides) – November 28 – 6.45pm

This play obtained nine awards at the State Drama Festival including best direction, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, best set designing, best costume designing, best choreography, best stage lighting and best stage management in year 2000 and 161 shows have been staged all over the country including the Northerm and Eastern Provinces.

Cast: Anoja Weerasinghe, Yashoda Wimaladharma, Meena Kumarie, Neil Alas, Jehan Aloysius, Perny Roshini,Vathsala Ranasinghe, Upul Nishantha, Nilmini Buwaneka,Thilini Weerasinghe, Anusha Dissanayake,Jeevanie Kumari, Deepa Willorarachchi, Kumudu Prashanthi, Thushari Gunarathne, and others Music: Rookantha Gunathilake
Choreography: Jerome de Silva

http://www.nation.lk/2010/11/21/eyefea3.htm

Makarakshaya - මකරාක්ෂයා (The Dragon) - Trailer for the show at Lumbini Theatre

2010-07-14T00:11:00.000-07:00

Watch on Youtube

MAKARAKSHAYA -Pricked the conscience with finesse

2010-07-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

11-07-2010

Banadranayake, as Lancelot, eliminated the dragon or Makara uthumanang, in a single-handed battle he was engaged in for over 23 years — certainly making one’s eyebrow raise. The youthful persona of Lancelot, who took to the stage in mid ’70s, was skilfully revived by Wasantha Wittachchi, the age of the artiste becoming secondary to the ‘goods delivered’ with such a flair

By Randima Attygalle

Walking into Parakramabahu Vidyalaya in Narahenpita, where rehearsals of Dharmasiri Bandaranayake’s Makarakshaya were in progress on a Monday afternoon in June, held no sign of an eventful ending of a day. With a round of refreshments, the rehearsals commenced, dragon or Makarakshaya’s fiery thud engulfing the vicinities. The ‘sinned mortals’ of a city terrorised by a blood thirsty creature, shriek in mortal fear. In a split second, the dramatist’s thunderous boom itself silences the mortals present at every corner of the hall, suddenly oblivious to the blood-sucking mosquitoes of the real world at dusk. Emotions run riot, frustration of an artiste seeking perfection is felt heavy in the air, a mobile phone is scattered into fragments, some picking pieces in a futile attempt to re-assemble… Young minds of the cast assume (fortunately) that it’s an integral part of the drama itself! Bandaranayake roars with clenched fists, urging to bring out the potential of each artiste…

A fortnight later, at the Wendt, when Lancelot killed the dragon and festivity followed in every nook and corner of the once terrorised city, backstage flooded with trickles of merriment, thumping on the backs, words of congratulations, few of us who witnessed the labours of a creation in a humble school hall, a dramatist’s anxiety and the crusade till the final curtain draws, shared a knowing smile - that ‘it was all worth it.’

Bandaranayake proved his theatrical mettle once more to the first-viewer of much acclaimed Makarakshaya, and undoubtedly, to the faithful viewer of yesteryear, lost in a reverie of fond memories. A political satire in its best, subtlety closer to the contemporary audience than ever before, Makarakshaya manifested a persuasive theatrical attempt, a footprint left in the soul of the theatre lover, not easily concealed.

Banadranayake, as Lancelot, eliminated the dragon or Makara uthumanang, in a single-handed battle he was engaged in for over 23 years- certainly making one’s eyebrow raise. The youthful persona of Lancelot, who took to the stage in mid ’70s, was skilfully revived by Wasantha Wittachchi, the age of the artiste becoming secondary to the ‘goods delivered’ with such a flair.

Dharmapriya Dias of Machan fame, added another feather to his cap as nagaradhipathi or the mayor, stealing the show, versatility apparent in every gesture. The complex story line delivered to the audience, with effortless portrayal by Dharmapriya, together with Chulla Jayawardana as the cat, evoked laughter, not merely at verbosity coupled with witty repartee, but at the rulers attempting to achieve their ends at the cost of those ruled. Needless to say that Lakshman Mendis reaped the harvest of his experience, stepping into the shoes of the dragon with ease.

Sadly, the drama failed in the hands of Elissa, one of the lead roles portrayed by Yashodha Wimaladharma. Although the feminine charm of Elissa was given life by Yashodha, the vigour of the character- the very cornerstones of it were not done justice. Her voice barely audible, contradicted the basic rudiments of stage play. In the light of the former artistes playing Elissa (Swarna Mallawarachchi and Ramani Bartholomeusz) Yashodha’s portrayal appeared as one grossly lacking ‘life’.

The mastery of the director deserves credit in localising the drama, whilst preserving the original flavour of Yevgeny Shvart’s political satire, carefully exploiting devices such as costumes. Little known faculty of Bandaranayake as a dress designer, deserves compliments, the costumes of the cast proving one-of-a-kind, with chic added to by the flawless cut of Chiranthi Mallikarachchi- the maiden effort of the latter in an endeavour of this nature, which truly deserves encouragement. The headpiece of the dragon, a masterpiece by Vimal Jayawardana, could send waves of shudder among the audience, while the choreography of Jehan Aloysius, struck a fine blend of anxiety and festivity, latter prominent in the celebrations marking the end of the dragon.

Despite the conscience realising the truth, the human race often leads an existence of indifference, buffered by façade. Makarakshaya certainly pricked the conscience of such superficial existence. The dragon was annihilated, yet, can it extend to the dragon within all of us? Shvart once questioned, so did Bandaranayake. The artistic effort of addressing the human conscience is a mammoth task that no other medium can attempt to attain, which Makarakshaya did with such finesse.

Makarakshaya will be staged once more at Lumbini Theatre on July 23 and at Lionel Wendt on August 15

(Photo credit: Udeni Alwis)

http://www.nation.lk/2010/07/11/eyefea5.htm

Makarakshaya - Next Shows

2010-07-07T22:59:00.000-07:00

23rd July 2010

2.30/6.30 p.m

Lumbini Theatre, Havelock Town, Colombo 5.

15th August 2010

6.30 p.m.

Lionel Wendt Theatre, Colombo7.

Makaraakshaya

2010-07-07T22:51:00.000-07:00

By: Bhagya Senaratne
“What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out.”
Alfred Hitchcock

Makaraakshaya (The Dragon), a highly anticipated theatre production was restaged after a lapse of 25 years! Staged recently to a full house at the Lionel Wendt, I, for one, certainly forgot where I was during the entirety of the play.

Recommended by a friend to watch this, I was eager to see what the hype was all about! My enthusiasm was well worth it!

The story is woven around Elisa, an ordinary girl who is soon to be taken away as a bride by the city’s guardian, The Dragon. She is the ‘chosen one’ for the year, The Dragon’s choice, merely because of her beauty. She reluctantly accepts her plight and tries to prepare herself mentally for the unforgettable day. It’s a public secret that, once chosen, a girl will never return. A handsome young worrier, Lancelot, without the shinning armour, walks in to this city. He sees the depression amongst a certain section in society. He wants to help change the plight of young Elisa. The story then moves on to depict the means deployed by Lancelot in his efforts.

What intrigued me most about this play is its relevance to the present times. Besides depicting the plight of a young girl, this play also draws on a number of other important issues. One such is the corruption in governance. This is an issue that is seen in many countries around the world, and an issue that is been pressed to remedy, calling for transparency in governance. Another, is simply power. How this tool is utilised by the one who has access to it, to get their work done and mostly to achieve their selfish goals.

There are certain similarities and also many differences to be seen in this second production that can be mentioned. Dharmasiri Bandaranayake himself is seen acting Lancelot, just like he did, so many years prior to this. Whilst the character of Elisa is played by Yashoda Wimaladarma, in this time’s staging.

I found a note Bandaranayake has written way back in 1985, for the first production of this drama interesting. In this note, he stated that he is staging this drama due to the disgust and sympathy he felt thereafter, towards the people of society in seeing them turning a blind eye to injustice, whilst knowing the truth.

What was most interesting for me, to have observed is that that issues that were relevant to a certain era are over time, relevant to another place and time in history. The issues discussed in this play and the portrayals of character, I feel, are universal.

Directed by Dharmasiri Bandaranayake for the second time, Makaraakshaya known as The Dragon in English is a play written by Soviet playwright Yevgeny Shvarts.

Makarakshaya

2010-06-29T23:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.lankadeepa.lk/Section/sandella/06/20/02.htm

2010-06-26T03:32:00.001-07:00

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaahflJ8jPikWfV7ittF4rZcxbXq9NQW9XrW7OcTfP5VBAQ0GnukUCZmH9IcV6fRR1bQsOhhKXDLWFvYg41CYqov7aRbLIlxT-vkUZcEAaheGBKHZ1N2ejPYrKqsMqWOj6SnN6gw8PWcG/s1600/dfsd.jpg

Living with ‘Dragons and Makarakshas’: Politics of Dharmasiri Bandaranaiyake’s Theatre.

2010-06-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

by Athulasiri Kumara Samarakoon
(The Open University of Sri Lanka / smak918@gmail.com)

I have watched only three plays by veteran director cum actor Dharmasiri Bandaranaiyake; namely Euripides’ ‘Trojan Women’ (Trojan Kanthawo), ‘The Dictator’ (Eka Adipathi) and ‘The Dragon’ (Makarakshaya) (originally by Soviet playwright Yevgeney Shvarts). Of these three, ‘The Dictator’ and ‘The Dragon’ have been reproduced, currently being staged for a new generation of audience, about 3o years younger to the original productions of these plays. Can this re-production, or say, re-contextualization of old plays, still produce a certain appeal in terms of conveying its message (politics) to an audience living in different economic and social conditions, a different historical time?

According to Piyaseeli Wijegunasinghe (I refer to the brochure distributed at the opening show of the reproduction of ‘The Dragon’ at the Lionel Wendt with a quote from her 1985 article in Aththa newspaper,) ‘a play written during a certain historical and social context, under the limitations and constraints imposed on the artist by the same social context, would not produce necessary knowledge required for us to have social progress’. She further tells that ‘to subject a decadent ruling class, depending upon deception, to satire and laughter just to have momentary satisfaction, which is provided by Makarakshaya is not enough. Wijegunasinghe’s criticism might have got its own meaning and ‘truth’ according to her ideological and political doctrine. However, to counter her idea here is not my aim, but to examine the term ‘political’ which she, me and several others would want to materialise through the mobilization of masses in a revolutionary act. So, what Piyaseeli has said cannot be ‘the truth’, the absolute truth about Dharmasiri Bandaranaiyake’s theatre. For I assume Dharmasiri’s theatre to be ‘political’ and rich with enough knowledge for social action, which has to be carefully discerned and re-interpreted by responsible critics.

If politics, as in its classic definition of it, involves power struggles, conflict and repression with a universal application on any society at any historical time, Bandranaiyake’s plays can be a very good example portraying a universal truth of power politics. Especially, in the local context, when it is contextualised and re-contextualised, the effect of the political message get more and more sharpened with different interpretations of politics, rulers and their subjects.

Basically, in ‘The Dragon’ and ‘The Dictator’, Dharmasiri derives a fundamental lesson from political realism; the struggle for power and the struggle to protect that power through deception and violence. So, for me his theatre, which is more Brechtian in its form and content, becomes didactic in nature as its original aim is not to just please the audience, but to awaken them to a reality around them and create opposition against existing conditions. In the words of Volter in ‘The Dictator’ this realist political stance turns to be very much a humanist supplication; “ cry children, until a mother’s breast produce milk, cry without stopping, till a mother with mother’s love and affection come and console you”. As a dramatist Dharmasiri, like any other artist, has to first overcome the existing political barriers on artistic expressions and use his medium very tactfully. So, he chooses satirical plots with a political message and dramatises them powerfully.

In Trojan women, Dharmasiri voiced rather an idealist appeal against the war, which kills our brethren and makes our wives widows. It was a timely selection as in the local context we were embarking on a brutal war. The philosophy of the Trojan Women within, re-contextualization of this ancient Greek play created new meanings and new significations in a society being affected by a civil war. However, the idealist world view, i.e., desire for the maintenance of perpetual peace in society mainly went unheard of. It is because the power of the political idea behind a lonely attempt by an artist can only anger a clan of warlords and fail to find that mass (-media) appealing, in the absence of a political movement and criticisms by organic intellectuals.

The attempt of consciousness raising among oppressed often becomes a failed exercises or yields very little harvest in an era of mass consumption, in which ‘shopping mall’ ideology has shrouded the conscience of ‘so-called mass’. It is in fact true regarding the politics of any alternative thinking which certainly has to swim ‘against the tide’. Also when the ‘so-called ‘fourth government’, the media is often controlled by capitalist ownerships, with a motive for profits by selling ‘hot news’ or ‘what people ask for’. So, it is obvious that when media reign over citizens’ horizon of imagination, their consciousness about political reality is not so easy to be awakened, for that just one Dharmasiri would not be enough.

On the other hand, if we have, with the phantasmagorical effect of consumer capitalism, entered a post-modern context, then again the relevance of our medium becomes problematic. Specially, when there are lot of convincing stories of irrelevance of class based analyses of social relations, Dharmasiri’s theatre easily become the target of those pseudo post-modernists as well. However, if we are permitted to borrow some ideas form the ‘Post Modern Condition’, espoused by the high priest of post-modernism, Jean Franco Lyotard, we can read the politics in present day context as a ‘game of language’. In questioning that language game of the post-modern politicians, whose attire and appearance would be highly different from that of Hitler or other great dictators of the past, and who exert similar coercion and control over societies, with a toned -language and deceptions of promises, still the theatre of Dharmasiri offers us the key to identify them.

So, the message of politics expressed in Dharmasiri’s theatre is for all time; the plays being ‘texts’ in its Derridian understanding, can be re-played, re-produced and re-interpreted in different historical times and contexts. When a play, originally written in Stalinist era or under the conditions of slavery in ancient Greece, is re-contextualised in a war-ravaged society, with all the signs of loss of humanity and thirst for revenge, and exploitation of the oppressed, the theatrical enterprise of Dharmasiri becomes original and admirable. The new significations that present day viewer derives from his theatre are the results of dialectical impact of existing political reality and dramatic expression of a similar reality through the plays.

Moreover, as media, critics, intellectuals and repressive apparatus of states involve in the process of portraying, criticising, producing and censoring various dimensions of political reality that an artist may want to recreate, his work is then not just a lonely task. In fact, it becomes a war against and within all these forces. Whose side win or who is more cable of convincing of the politics of his work, politics that others would deny, is a question about the political movements in a society.

In ‘The Dragon’ what we experience is this reality of a lack of creative political force which can take on any evil political leadership or repressive ruling class at any context. Rather than blaming on the circumstances, the real and imaginative political leadership or movement is able to exploit them and defeat the politics of the oppressor. The fear psychosis that the masses are overwhelmed with about mysterious character of ‘dragons-like’ authoritarian rulers, are boldly and imaginatively deconstructed and finally laid to destruction in the hands of a leadership with right philosophy and correct action plan.

All in all, Dharmasiri as a major one among the few political dramatists in the local context has dedicated his entire life on a certain political destination that he thinks the society as a whole should embark upon to reach there. Through his theatrical depiction of agonising ruling class, passive ordinary masses and untiring and brave effort of right political leadership to awake and mobilise masses against injustice, violence and exploitation, he proposes that a better future is impossible without a revolution led by humanists, free of violence.

Kill the dragon within

2010-06-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

13-06-2010

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake’s acclaimed play Makarakshaya is to go on the boards once more

By Randima Attygalle

“You see, the human soul is very resilient. Cut the body in half — and the man croaks. But tear the soul apart — and it only becomes more pliable, that’s all. No, really, you couldn’t pick a finer assortment of souls anywhere. Only in my town. Souls with no hands. Souls with no legs. Mute souls, deaf souls, chained souls, snitch souls, damned souls,” says the Dragon in Soviet playwright Yevgeny Shvart’s political satire The Dragon. Aimed at totalitarianism, The Dragon is a subtle dramatisation of truth and illusion, reality and fantasy, finely symbolised by the mythological dragon which terrorises a land of suffering men and women under a despotic rule and brutality beyond imagination. Between the extreme ends of mythology- cruelty juxtaposed with heroism, (latter personified by Lancelot) stands a land of ordinary men and women who are finally salvaged by Lancelot.

Upon witnessing the dramatic charm of Lancelot, of celebrated late dramatist Henry Jayasena’s production of Makara in 1973- an adaptation of The Dragon, none other than Prof. Sarachchandra invited the young hero to grace his celebrated play as Maname Kumaraya. A privilege indeed, yet the handpicked Maname Kumaraya believed he could not do justice to the hallowed role, with his ‘not-so-musical’ timbre! “Thus I quit rehearsals of my own accord,” recalls amused Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, who later stole the show at the State Drama Festival of 1986, bagging 12 coveted awards including Best Drama, Best Translation, Best Direction and Best Music, for his production of Makarakshaya, once again inspired by Shvart’s Dragon.

“By 1973, when Henry invited me to play Lancelot in his much acclaimed play Makara, I had my theatrical exposure only in the productions of Dayananda Gunawardene and Hemasiri Liyanage. Needless to say that, Makara was a poignant moment in my theatrical career,” recalled Bandaranayake. First staged in Moscow in 1944, Shvart’s Dragon inspired many dramatists of both Socialist and non-Socialists nations alike. “Despotic rule, idleness, dishonesty and cowardice are strongly criticised in this play, and when I did my own production in 1985, based on Cyril C. Perera’s translation, the political theme of the play could be more easily arrested by the Sri Lankan audience,” cited Bandaranayake, whose creation baptised as Makarakshaya, took to the stage in a context of political and social unrest within the country, in the aftermath of the 1983 communal riots.

“When Henry invited me to do a reproduction of Makara, in the light of my success of Eka Adhipathi in 1976, with the original cast, it could not materialised, owing to the changes in the socio-political fabric of the country,” said Bandaranayake, who salutes the celebrated dramatist instrumental in crowning him as the ‘hero who outdid the dragon or makara’.

Renowned artistes such as Swarna Mallawarachchi (as Elisa), Winston Serasinghe, J.H. Jayawardana, Daya Alwis and Nihal Fernando, taking to the stage, Makarakshaya saw the light of the day in 1985, with Bandaranayake giving life to Lancelot, once more in his own production. Touring the island with over 800 shows, and added scholarly acclaim to its credit, Makarakshaya enthralled the audience, its worth reflected in the prestigious awards secured at the 1986 State Drama Festival.

Last staged in 1999, Makarakshaya is to enthral theatre lovers once more on June 19 and 20 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. Shedding light upon the re-production, Bandaranayake said, “Makarakshaya is the second endeavour of my series of re-productions which commenced with Eka Adhipathi last year and I hope to stage Yakshawagamanaya in July, with a new cast.” The new production of Makarakshaya showcases the talents of both the veteran and the novice, among them are Dharmasiri Bandaranayake (as Lancelot) Yashoda Wimaladharma, Dharmapriya Dias, Janaka Kumbukage and Lakshman Mendis. Choreographed by Jehan Aloysius, with the expertise of Wasantha Vittachchi in makeup, Makarakshaya promises to be another stimulating theatrical endeavour by Bandaranayake.

Dragon or Makarakshaya killed by Lancelot, did not necessarily free the inner spirit or soul of people of the terrorised land. The final words of Lancelot, who returns to the town free of the dragon (makarakshaya), “This is going to be a very meticulous job. We have to kill the dragon in each one of them,” offer food for thought…

http://www.nation.lk/2010/06/13/eyefea3.htm

‘Makarakshaya’ hunting for dragons in humans

2010-06-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

By Susitha R. Fernando

The maiden show of the new production of Dharmasiri Bandaranayake’s multi-awarded political satire ‘Makarakshaya’ (The Dragon) will go on the boards at 6.45 pm on June 19 and 20 at the Lionel Wendt, theatre, Colombo.

Staging nearly 900 shows, ‘Makarakshaya’, the Sinhala translation of ‘The Dragon’ written by Soviet playwright Yevgeny Shvarts and translated by Cyril C. Perera won 12 State Awards at the State Drama Festival in 1985 including Best play, Best Director, Best Translation, Best Music, Best Costume Designing, Best Stage Set designing, Best Lighting and Best Choreography. Produced in 1985 the play staged till 1999 to packed audiences around the country.

‘Makarakshya’ is a political satire aimed at totalitarianism in all forms. The plot is based on the attempt of the hero, Lancelot, to liberate people in a land suffering under Dragon’s brutal rule. But his efforts meet with resistance, since most of the people have got used to the Dragon and considered his methods, though harsh, the only possible way; their souls becoming, in a way, crippled with this inability and unwilling to resist.

“Though the play was originally written in 1945 and first produced by late playwright Henry Jayasena in 1973 and then produced by me on a different translation in 1985 in Sri Lanka the message is still applicable to our society,” playwright and actor Dharmasiri Bandaranayake said.

“We find the tyrannical qualities of the leaders are inherent in the very subjects who chose them and the biggest challenge is to destroy these dragons living within the ordinary people who are lazy and shrewd,” the veteran playwright said.

‘This is a fairy tale and with certain changes we have maintained the interesting dramatic effects so that everybody can enjoy,’ he added. One of the main purposes in reproducing ‘Makarakshaya’ is to educate the present theatregoers and students of theatre and drama who had never seen it.

‘These plays have gone in to history and I want to reproduce all my plays to educate the younger generation who did not have the chance to see them,’ Bandaranayake said. Dharmasiri Bandaranayake who played the lead role of Lancelot in both Henry Jayasena’s production and his own is to repeat the same for the last time.

‘I had to play this role as we could not find the suitable actor,’ he said. ‘Today there is a real problem of getting dedicated actors to the stage. They are not ready to study the profession and they only go after teledramas which provide them more financial benefits. Actually this is a pathetic situation which has lead to the destruction of theatre and art,’ describes veteran playwright and filmmaker.

‘However we have managed to get an interesting cast together with some well-known names in cinema and teledrama’ The others in the cast in the new production include Yashoda Wimaladharma, Dharmapriya Dias, Luxman Mendis, Priyantha Sirikumara, Chulla Jayawardhana, Gamini Wijesinghe, Leonard Cooray, Warnathunga Senanayake, Jagath Muthukumarana, Oshadee Gunasekera, Vathsala Ranasinghe, Dulanjalee Shankalya, Niluka Rajamanthree, Arunod Wijesinghe and Amila Gal Anga.

The choreography is by Jehan Aloysius while the assistant director is Ranga Bandaranayake. Make up is by Wasantha Vittachchi and the stage managers are Indika Wickramarathna, Susanga Kahandawaarachchi and Oshadee Gunasekera.

http://sundaytimes.lk/100613/Magazine/sundaytimestvtimes_10.html

මකරා යළි මතු වෙයි.

2010-06-13T00:47:00.000-07:00

මේ මස 19 සහ 20 යන දිනයන්හිදී සවස 6.30 ට ධර්මසිරි බණ්ඩාරනායක ගේ මකරාක්ෂයා නැවතත් වේදිකා ගත වේ. මේ ඔහු සමඟ කළ කතාබහකි.

ඔබේම තවත් පැරණි නාට්‍යයක් නැවත කරළියට එනවා?

ඔව්. පහුගිය කාලයේ මගේ පරණ වේදිකා නාට්‍ය ටික නැවතත් ප්‍රේක්ෂකයන් අතරට ගේන්න ඕනය කියල මම කල්පනා කළා. ඒකේ පළමු පියවර වුණේ ‘ඒකා අධිපති’ වේදිකාවට ගෙන ඒම. මේ ඒකේ දෙවෙනි පියවර. මෙවර මං මගේ මකරාක්ෂයා නැවත නව නිෂ්පාදනයක් හැටියට මේ මාසේ 19 – 20 දිනවලදී ලයනල් වෙන්ට්ඩ් ශාලාවේ වේදිකා ගත කරන්නයි සූදානම් වෙන්නේ.

‘ඒකාධිපති’ නැවත වේදිකාවට ගෙන ඒම සිද්ධ වුණේ මීට මාස කිහිපයකට ඉහත දී. ඒකට ලැබුණු ප්‍රතිචාරයත් ‘මකරා’ නැවත ගෙන ඒමට බලපෑවද?

කනගාටුවෙන් වුණත් කොහෙත්ම නෑ කියලයි කියන්න වෙන්නේ. මොකද ‘ඒකාධිපති’ නැවත වේදිකාවට ගෙන ඒමෙන් කලාකාරයකු හැටියට මම ලබපු අත්දැකීම නම් එතරම් ප්‍රසන්න එකක් නෙවෙයි.

ඇයි ඔබ එහෙම කියන්නේ?

දෙවෙනි අත්දැකීම ගත්තම ලාංකීය සමාජය ගමන් කරලා තියෙන දිශාන්තය කොයිබටද, ඔවුන්ගේ අධ්‍යාත්මය රැඳිලා තියෙන තැන කොතනද කියන එක පිළිබඳව කලාකාරයෙක් විදිහට මම තෘප්තිමත් නෑ.

මේ තත්ත්වය ඔබට අර්බුදයක් හැටියට පේන්නේ ඇයි?

නාට්‍ය ශාලාවකට එන පිරිස සාමන්‍ය ජනයාට වඩා එහාට ගිය පිරිසක් වෙන්න ඕනය කියන එකයි අපේ බලාපොරොත්තුව. නමුත් ලංකාවේ ඊට එහා ගිය මට්ටමක් දැන් නෑ. මේක මම මේ කියන්නේ කේන්තියකින් නෙවෙයි.

මේක අවබෝධ කර ගත යුතු තත්ත්වයක් කියලයි මට හිතෙන්නේ.

නාට්‍යයත් එක්ක නළුවෙකු හැටියටත් සම්බන්ධ වෙන කෙනෙක් හැටියටයි මම මේ ප්‍රකාශය කරන්නේ. නමුත් 70, 80 දශකවල එහෙම තිබුණේ නෑ.

මේ පසුබිමේදීම ඔබ තවත් නාට්‍යයක් කරළියට ගේන්නෙ ඇයි?

1943 අග භාගයේ දී විතර තමයි The Dragan සෝවියට් දේශයේ රචනා වෙන්නේ. රුසියාවේ ට්‍රොස්කිවාදය මුල් බැහැ ගන්න තිබුණු අවස්ථාව මුළුමනින්ම අහුරන්නෙ ස්ටැලින් විසින්.

ලෙනින්ගෙන් පස්සේ ස්ටැලින් කෙනෙක් පහළ වීම කියන කාරණය අදහ ගන්නත් බැරි එකක්. ඒ මොහොතේ ඒ තත්ත්වය අත් විඳි යෙව්ගිනි ෂ්වාස්ට්ස් කලාකරුවා රචනා කළ නාට්‍යය තමයි The Dragan. දීනභාවය, මර්ධනය, කපටිකම, බියගුළුකම, වංචාව වගේ දේවල්වලින් පිරුණු මිනිස් සමාජයක් ගැන තමයි මේකෙන් කතා වෙන්නේ.

ෂ්වාට්ස්ගේ ‘ද ඩ්‍රැගන්, ‘මකරා’ බවට පත්වීම පිළිබඳ අතීත මතකයට ගියොත්?

ඒ ඉතිහාසය නම් හරිම සුන්දර මතකයක්. ලිපිකරුවෙක් හැටියට කොළඹ රැකියාවට ආවට පස්සේ මට මුලින්ම හමු වුණු නාට්‍යකරුවා තමයි හෙන්රි ජයසේන. ඔහු මේ නාට්‍යයේ ප්‍රධාන භූමිකාවට මොන හේතුවකට මාව තෝරා ගත්තාද දන්නේ නෑ. නමුත් ඒ තෝරා ගැනීම අද දක්වාම මගේ කලා ජීවිතයේ ලැබුණු ලොකුම භාග්‍යයක්. වේදිකා නාට්‍ය කලාවෙත් මගේ අධ්‍යාත්මික කාරණාවලටත් ඒ තෝරා ගැනීම තදින්ම බලපාලා තියෙනවා.

මේ නිසාම මම අද හෙන්රිව හඳුන් වන්නේ ‘මකරා මැරූ වීරයා’ ලෙස මාව වේදිකාවේ අභිෂේක කළ මහා පුරුෂයා හැටියටයි. ඔහු එදා මේ නාට්‍ය තෝරා ගත්තේ මොස්කව්වලදීත්, නැගෙනහිර ජර්මනියේදීත් මේ නාට්‍ය දැකීම නිසයි. ඒ තෝරා ගත් හේතුව දේශපාලනිකයි. ඔහු දේශපාලනය සමඟ සහ සම්බන්ධතා පවත්වන්න නොගිය කෙනෙකු වුණත් හුණුවටයෙන් පස්සේ මේ නාට්‍ය තෝරා ගෙන තිබෙන්නේ ඒක ඇතුළෙ තිබුණු බොහෝ කාරනා අවිඥානිකව හෝ අපේ සමාජය ඇසුරෙන් හෝ ඔහු ඒත්තු ගෙන තිබූ නිසාය කියලයි මට හිතෙන්නේ.

ඔහු අතින් ‘මකරා’ සඳහා ඔබ මෙහෙය වුණු ආකාරය?

ඔහු මාව මෙහෙය වූ ආකාරය අද හරිම සුන්දර මතකයක්. නළුවෙක් වශයෙන් මගේ හඬ, පෞරුෂත්වය, මගේ ඉරියව්, ඒ වගේම ‘ලාන්ස්ලොට්’ නැමැති රටම නිදහස් කරගන්න ආපු වීරයාගේ චරිතයට පණ පෙවීම වගේ කාරණාවලට වයස අවුරුදු 23 ක තරුණයෙක් හැටියට මේ වගේ දේශපාලනික නාට්‍යයකට සම්බන්ධ වෙන්න ලැබීමම ආශ්වාදනීය අත්දැකීමක්. ඒ වගේම කිසියම් වෘත්තීය විනයකට අපව හුරු කළ සහ එය කළ හැකි මෙබඳු නාට්‍යයක් සොයා ගැනීම ගැන මම හෙන්රි ජයසේනයන්ට ගරු කරනවා.

අද ඔබ අතින් මකරාක්ෂයා යළි උපදින අවස්ථාවේ මකරා ඔබට හඳුන්වා දුන් හෙන්රි ජයසේනයන් පිළිබඳ මතකය මේ නිර්මාණයට මුසු වෙන්නේ මොන විදිහටද?

මම අද මගේ නළු නිළියන් මකරා සඳහා පුහුණු කරන්නෙත් හෙන්රි ජයසේනයන් පිළිබඳ සඳහන් කරමින්.

මොකද එදා මම මකරා රඟපෑවේ හෙන්රි වගේ කෘතහස්ත නාට්‍යකරුවෙකුගේ සෙවණේ. එදා වාසනාවට හෙන්රි ජයසේනයන්ගේ මකරා බවට පත් වෙන්න මටත්, මාගෙන් ඒ චරිතයට සාධාරණය ඉටු කරවා ගන්න හෙන්රිටත් අවස්ථාව තිබුණා. නමුත් අවාසනාවකට අද ඉන්න ශිල්පීන් ළඟ එදා අපි ළඟ තිබුණු ගුණාංග පළාතකවත් නෑ.

එයින් ඔබ අදහස් කළේ?

නළුවා විතරක් නෙවෙයි අද වෙන කොට පුරවැසියා හැටියට ඉන්නෙම වෙළෙඳ ක්‍රමය මත ජරාජීර්ණ වෙච්ච පිරිසක්. මේ නිසාම එදා මේ නාට්‍ය කිරීමෙන් ලබපු ආශ්වාදය අද මම සහ මේ සමාජය ලබනවද කියන ප්‍රශ්නය මට තියෙනවා. නමුත් මේ සමාජයට අප විසින් ඉෂ්ඨ සිද්ධ කළ යුතු වගකීමක් හැටියට පවරාගෙන තමයි අද අපි මේ වේදිකා නාට්‍ය කරන්නේ.

මුල් වරට මම 1985 දී මකරා නිෂ්පාදනය කළා. ඒ අවස්ථාවේදී කනගාටුදායක අත්දැකීමක් වුණේ හෙන්රිම මේ නිර්මාණය කරන්නය කියලා මට කියලා මම නිෂ්පාදකයෙකුත් හොයාගෙන ඒ කටයුත්තට ලැහැස්ති වෙද්දී ඔහුම මට නැවත කිව්වා ඒ නාට්‍යය කරන්න එපාය, ඒකෙන් රජය අපහසුතාවයට පත් වෙනවය කියලා.

එතකොට හෙන්රි ජයසේනයන් රූපවාහිනී සංස්ථාවේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල්වරයෙක් හැටියටයි හිටියේ. එදා ඒ නාට්‍ය සොයා ගත් නිෂ්පාදකවරයාම පස්සේ ඒක කරන්න එපා කියනවා. මම මේක කියන්නේ ඔහු සමඟ අමනාපයෙන්වත්, ඔහුට පහර දෙන්නවත්, අපහාස කරන්නවත් නෙවෙයි. මේ නාට්‍යයේ පසුබිම හා ඉතිහාසය කියන්නයි ඒක කිව්වේ. මේ නිසා මට සිද්ධ වුණා සිරිල් සී. පෙරේරා මහත්තයා ලවා නැවත ඩ්‍රැගන් පරිවර්තනය කර ගන්න. හෙන්රිගේ පරිවර්තනය මගේ අතට නොලැබුණු නිසාත්, මම ඒ නාට්‍යයට ආදරේ නිසාත් ‘ලාන්ස්ලොට්’ හැටියට රඟපාලා ඒ දේශපාලන කල්පනා ලෝකයෙන් මම යම් දෙයක් ලබාගෙන තිබූ නිසාත් තමයි මගේ අතින් මකරා ‘මකරාක්ෂයා’ නමින් නිෂ්පාදනය වුණේ.

ඔබේ මකාරාක්ෂයා සහ හෙන්රි ජයසේනයන්ගේ මකරා ගැන ඔබට පෙනෙන්නේ කොහොමද?

හෙන්රි ජයසේනයන්ගේ මකරා නිෂ්පාදනයේ මම නළුවෙක් වශයෙන් රඟපාපු අවස්ථාවේ දර්ශන වාර 83 ක් ප්‍රදර්ශනය කරන්න හැකි වුණා. නමුත් මම නැවත මකරා වේදිකාවට ගෙනත් දර්ශන වාර 700 ගණනක් දක්වා මේ නාට්‍ය ඉදිරියට තල්ලු කරන්න හැකියාව ලැබුණා.

වෙනසට හේතුව හැටියට ඔබ දකින්නේ?

මට හිතෙන්නේ මගේ නිෂ්පාදනය වැඩි වැඩියෙන් බලන්න ජනයා පෙළඹුණා. මගේ නිෂ්පාදනය බලලා වරක් හෙන්රි ජයසේනයන්ම මට කිව්වා ‘ධර්මේ මම දේශපාලන කාරණා ඉස්මත්තට ගෙනාවේ නෑ. නමුත් මේ ප්ලේ එක ඇතුළේ ඔයා ඒක ඉස්සරහට ගෙනත් තියෙනවය කියලා. අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම ඒක සිද්ධ වුණාය කියලා මමත් විශ්වාස කරනවා. මොකද ඒ වෙන කොට ‘ඒකා අධිපති’ කරලා මගේ දෙවෙනි නාට්‍ය හැටයටයි මකරා කළේ.

වරක් හෙන්රි ජයසේනයන් අතින් ‘මකරා’ නිර්මාණය වෙලා තියෙද්දිත් ඔබත් නැවත එයම ප්‍රති නිර්මාණය කරන්න හිතුවේ ඇයි?

ඒකට ප්‍රධානම හේතුවක් තමයි ඒ කාලේ යුද්ධය ආරම්භ වීම. මේ නාට්‍යයෙත් මකරයි, ලාන්ස්ලොට් අතර යුද්ධයක් තියෙනවා.

ඒක කෙලින්ම ජනයා පීඩිතභාවයට පත් කළ මකාරා විනාශ කිරීමේ යුද්ධයක්. මේ නාට්‍ය රුසියාවේ නිර්මාණය වෙන්නේ සදාතනික ධර්මතාවයක් සහිත අවබෝධයක් ජනී ජනයාට ලබාදීමේ අදහසින්.

ඔබ අතින් නිර්මාණය වුණු මකරාක්ෂයාත් මකර කටින් රිංගපු නාට්‍යයක් ?

එක දේශපාලනික නාට්‍යයක් නිසාම පරීක්ෂක මණ්ඩලයේ දැඩි අවධානයට එය ලක් වුණා. මකරාගේ හිස් තුනක් තිබීම ගැන මගෙන් ප්‍රශ්න කළා. නමුත් හෙන්රි ජයසේනයන්ට ප්‍රශ්නයක් වුණේ නෑ ඒක අනුමත කළා. නමුත් හෙන්රි හිතුවා ඔළු තුන හෝ ඔළු හත ගැන සඳහන් කළොත් තුන් හවුල් හා හත් හවුල් ආණ්ඩු ගැන ප්‍රශ්න කරයි කියලා. එදා හෙන්රි මුහුණ නොදී ඔහු උප කල්පනය කරපු හැබෑම ප්‍රශ්නවලට මුහුණ දෙන්න වුණේ මටයි.

මම මකරාගේ ඔළු තුන බිම පතිත වන විදිහ නිර්මාණය කළාම පරීක්ෂක මණ්ඩලයේ සෙසු සාමාජිතයෝ සභාපතිතුමාට පැමිණිළි කරලා තිබුණා මැද වැටුණු ඔළුව හිටපු පාලකයාගේ වගේය කියලා.

ඒ කියන්නේ ජේ. ආර්. ජයවර්ධනගේ ඔළුව වගේය කියලා. අපි කිව්වා මෙය ඒ වගේ ප්‍රාථමික ගණයේ, මිනිසුන්ට අපහාස පරිභව කරන්න කලාකාරයෝ සූදානම් වෙන නාට්‍යයක් නෙමේය කියලා. කොහොම වුණත් ඒ අය කිව්වා ඒ ඔළුව වෙනස් කරන්නය කියලා. අපි හවරියක් අලවලා ඒ ඔළුව වෙනස් කළා. ඒ වගේ හාස්‍ය ජනක අත්දැකීම්වලටත් මුහුණ දෙන්න වුණා.

නමුත් අවසානයේ ඇගයීමටත් ලක් වුණා?

ඔව්, 1985 රාජ්‍ය නාට්‍ය උළෙලේ හොඳම නාට්‍ය ඇතුළු ප්‍රධාන සම්මාන සියල්ලම පාහේ මකරාක්ෂයා නාට්‍යටයි ලැබුණේ. ඒ වගේම එතැන් සිට 1999 දක්වාම අඛණ්ඩව මේ නාට්‍ය රඟ දැක් වුණා.

පරීක්ෂණ මණ්ඩල කඩ ඉමට අමතරව නළු කාර්යයත් විටින් විට මකරාට අභියෝගයක් වුණා?

85 දී ප්‍රධානම රංග භූමිකාව කරමින් හිටිය ස්වර්ණා මල්ලවාරච්චි ගේ ඉවත්වීම රාජ්‍ය නාට්‍ය උළෙලේදී තදින්ම බලපෑවා. ඊට පස්සේ දවස් හතක් වගේ ඉතාමත් කෙටි කාලයක් තුළ රමණී බර්තෝලමියුස් මම වේදිකාවට හඳුන්වලා දුන්නා.

ඇගේ පැමිණීමත් සමඟම නාට්‍ය වේගවත් දීර්ඝ ගමනක යෙදෙන මොහොතකයි ඇය අපෙන් සමු ගත්තේ. ඒ වගේම වින්ස්ටන් සේරසිංහව මම මකරාට තෝරා ගත්තා. ඔහු සමඟ රඟපෑමෙන් මාව හෙන්රි මෙහෙයවීම නිසා මම ලබා ගත් අවබෝධය තරම්ම අවබෝධයක් හා අත්දැකීමක් ලබා ගත්තා. ඔහුත් 1993 විතර වෙද්දී අපෙන් ඉවත් වුණා. ඒ දක්වාම ඔහුගෙන් අති විශාල රංග කාර්යයක් ඉටු වුණා.

‘මකරා’ හෙවත් මකාරක්ෂයා ගැන ඔබට තිබෙන්නේ මොන වගේ අදහසක්ද?

මේ නාට්‍ය පුංචි දරුවාගේ ඉඳලා මහල්ලා දක්වා හැමෝටම තම තමන්ගේ තරාතිරම් අනුව විවිධ අත්දැකීම් හා අවබෝධය ලබා දෙන නාට්‍යයක්. වඩා නාට්‍යමය සෞන්දර්යාත්මක, දේශපාලනික නාට්‍යයක්. කොටින්ම වෙනස්ම මඟක් ගත් නාට්‍යයක්.

‘මකරා’ කියන්නේ?

කලින් කලට ලෝකයේ ‘මකරා’ නමින් විවිධ රටවල නැගී සිටින බලවේග එහි ජනයා පෙළමින් ඔවුන්ව පීඩාවට පත් කරමින් ඔවුන් මර්ධනය කරමින් නැගී සිටිනවා. මකරා කියන්නේ සංකේතයක් පමණයි. පුද්ගලයෙක් නෙමෙයි. සිස්ටම් එක.

ඒ සිස්ටම් එක වියපත් වීම වෙනුවට ජරාජීර්ණ වීම නිසා ඒ මර්ධන බලවේගයන් ඉතා දරුණු ලෙස නැගී සිටිනවා . මනුෂ්‍යයන්ගේ ලතෝනිය තමයි ඔවුන්ගේ හඬ බවට පත් වෙන්නේ. අන්න එහෙම එන බලවේගයක් විදිහට තමයි මකරාක්ෂයා එළියට එන්නේ.

2010 දී මම මේ නාට්‍ය පෙළ අතට ගන්නේ මේ ළතෝනිය කෙබඳු වූවක්ද කියන කාරණය කොහොමද ජනයාට ඒත්තු ගන්වන්නේ කියන කාරණය ගැන කල්පනා කරලයි. ඒ නිසාම මෙවර මකරාක්ෂයා ආරම්භයේ සිටම නවීන නාට්‍ය ක්‍රමවේදයන් කිහිපයක්ම ප්‍රයෝජනයට ගන්නවා. එක් දෙයක් සඳහන් කරනවා නම් කේමදාසයන්ගේ සංගීතය වෙනුවට මම මෙවර යොදා ගන්නේ ලතෝනිය එහෙමත් නැත්නම් මිනිස් කට හඬ පමණයි.

හමුව - රවි රත්නවේල්

ඡයා - ටෙනිසන් එදිරිසිංහ

http://sarasaviya.lk/2010/06/10/_art.asp?fn=sa1006101&pn=*04,25

Sinhala production of "The Dragon"

2010-06-02T02:40:00.000-07:00

‘MAKARAKSHAYA’

(The Dragon)

Directed by
Dharmasiri Bandaranayake -1985

Won 12 State Awards from State Drama Festival 1985

including Best play in 1985,

Best Director,

Best Translation,

Best Music,

Best Costume Designing,

Best Stage Set designing,

Best Lighting,

Best Choreography,

The play 'Makarakshaya' has been staged 884 times

all around the country from from 1985 to 1999

New Sinhala Production of ‘Makarakshya’

(The Dragon) – 2010

Cast

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, Yashoda Wimaladharma,

Dharmapriya Dias, Janaka Kumbukage,

Luxman Mendis, Priyantha Sirikumara,

Chulla Jayawardhana, Gamini Wijesinghe, Leonard Cooray,

Warnathunga Senanayake, Jagath Muthukumarana,

Oshadee Gunasekera, Vathsala Ranasinghe,

Dulanjalee Shankalya, Niluka Rajamanthree,

Arunod Wijesinghe, Amila Gal Anga, and others…

Choreography

Jehan Aloysius

Make up

Wasantha Vittachchi

Stage Managers

Priyantha Prabhash

Susanga Kahandawaarachchi,

Translated by

Cyril C Perera

Directed by

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake

Yevgeny Shvarts

2010-06-02T02:24:00.000-07:00

Life of Yevgeny Shvarts

Yevgeny Shvarts was born in Kazan in 1896 into a physician's family. His father was Jewish, his mother Russian. At the end of the 1910s he studied law at Moscow State University, but was drafted into the army in the spring of 1917. He served in the White regiment of general Kornilov, and suffered shell-shock during the storming of Yekaterinodar in 1918. As a result of this he lost several teeth and acquired a tremor of the hands that plagued him for the rest of his life.

In 1919 decided to devote his life to dramatic art and literature. From 1924 on he lived in Leningrad and worked in Gosizdat under the guidance of Samuil Marshak; during that time he also became close with members of the avant-garde literary group OBERIU.

In 1929 Shvarts began writing plays, the best known of which are the modern retellings of fairy tales: «Golyi korol'» ("The Emperor's New Clothes") (1934), «Krasnaya Shapochka» ("Little Red Riding Hood") (1936), «Zolushka» ("Cinderella") (1938), «Snezhnaya Koroleva» ("The Snow Queen", after Hans Christian Andersen) (1938), «Tyen'» ("The Shadow", after Hans Christian Andersen) (1940), «Drakon» ("The Dragon", an original) (1944), and «Obyknovennoye Chudo» ("An Ordinary Miracle") (1956). Most of these plays were subsequently turned into films, sometimes more than once.

“The Dragon”

This play, the most "adult" of Shvarts' plays, is a political satire aimed at totalitarianism in all forms. The plot is based on the attempt of the hero, Lancelot, to liberate people in a land suffering under Dragon's brutal rule. But his efforts meet with resistance, since most of the people have gotten used to the Dragon and considered his methods, though harsh, the only possible way; their souls become, in a way, crippled with this inability and unwillingness to resist. Says the Dragon in the play: "You see, the human soul is very resilient. Cut the body in half — and the man croaks. But tear the soul apart — and it only becomes more pliable, that's all. No, really, you couldn't pick a finer assortment of souls anywhere. Only in my town. Souls with no hands. Souls with no legs. Mute souls, deaf souls, chained souls, snitch souls, damned souls."

Lancelot killing the Dragon in a fight did not free the people; all that changed was the Burgomaster acceding to the position formerly occupied by the Dragon and demanding that Elsa, the same girl who was destined to be sacrificed to the Dragon, become his wife. When Lancelot returns to the town a year later, he realizes that his task is much more complex: "This is going to be a very meticulous job... We have to kill the dragon in each one of them."

Famous Quotations

from "The Dragon"

Heinrich: "It's not my fault, I was taught that way."

Lancelot: "Everyone was, but why did you have to be first in class?"

MAKARAKSHAYA BACK ON SRI LANKAN STAGE

2010-05-31T05:07:00.000-07:00

"MAKARAKSHAYA"

Sinhala Translation of "The Dragon"

Written by

Soviet playwright Yevgeny Shvarts

Translated by

Cyril C. Perera

Directed by

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake

Stage on

19th & 20th June, 2010

Lionel Wendt Theatre, Colombo 7.