The Wesley College DramSoc presented Chorus and the Bard: an evening of Choral Music and Shakespeare’ at the Namel Malini Punchi Theatre recently. The evening opened with a special performance of Act 2 Scenes 1 and 2 of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.
Julius Caesar, a tragedy by William Shakespeare is believed to have been written in 1599. The story is based on true events from Roman History. Julius Caesar is not the most visible character in its action. He appears alive in only three scenes. Marcus Brutus speaks more than four times, and the central psychological drama of the play focuses on Brutus’ struggle between the conflicting demands of honour, patriotism and friendship.
Chorus and the Bard was a follow-up to the school’s triumph at the recently held Inter School Shakespeare Drama Competition 2016. St. Peter’s clinched the trophy for the winning boys’ school. Royal College Colombo, Wesley College, St. Peter’s College and St. Joseph’s College made up the four finalists from the boys’ schools. All four plays in the finals were extracts of the Shakespearean tragedy, Julius Caesar.
Defending Champions, St. Joseph’s College, Colombo kicked off the competition with their excerpt. St. Peter’s College Colombo portrayed a more contemporary version of the play. Unlike the other excerpts, Royal College, Colombo, brought to life a rendition of the play which portrays the politics which arises following the murder of Caesar – which was praised by the judges.
Wesley College, Colombo then performed a unique rendition of the play which was also praised by the judges as a perfect wrap up for the evening. Wesley College’s Taariq Jurangpathy was adjudged the Best Actor of this year’s competition for his portrayal of Brutus. Taariq Jurangpathy’s portrayal of Brutus directed by Kevin Cruze and assisted by Wasaam Ismail and Mayanthi de Silva, won him the Best Actor award. Wesley also shared the Award for Best Stagecraft with St. Peter’s College.
The show began with a whimper. It was vibrant to see Brutus’ transformation into a murderer and Caesar’s downfall. Taariq Jurangpathy was marvellous and seemed caught in a flux of emotions but retained a superficial calm.
In keeping with his character, he rationalised his crime in terms of the greater good, Caesar’s death represented to him the end of tyranny but gave the impression, subtly and surely, that he was spurred by a sense of self-worth rather than the altruism he displays to the world outside.
The costumes and colours stood out well. The looming sense of death, despair, and revolution were all brought out by the cast. It is impossible to do justice to a play without performing it in its entirety, but the boys at Wesley proved that with enough sensitivity, they could give out the illusion of staging such a play in half an hour. They spoke the words of Shakespeare as if it was their own.
Wesley College Choir trained by Rachael Halliday and led by Taariq Jurangpathy was on stage soon after the drama. They performed a selection of music from different ages. The choir trained by Rachel Halliday kept us spellbound with a string of hits from “We Are the Champions” to “Bohemian Rhapsody.” That was immediately followed by a five-member performance. All in all it was very entertaining.
The boys from Wesley performed the play bringing out Brutus’ feelings of remorse and the crisis of conscience he undergoes on the night before Caesar’s murder.
The performance of Chorus and the Bard on the stage of the Wesleyites was terrific. I am sure everyone, including the Chief Guest, Ambassador for Brazil, Elizabeth Sophie Balsa, and Guest of Honour, Yashoda Wimaladharma had an interesting evening.
The cast of the extract of Julius Caesar performed by Wesley College DramSoc at Chorus & the Bard on October 20, 2016.
*Brutus - Taariq Jurangpathy*Julius Caesar - Hashen Ratnayake*Cassius - Shakib Hisham*Calpurnia - Fulail Akram*Decius Brutus - Zaahid Aman*Casca - Hilur Gazzali*Cinna - Arom Medis*Caius Ligarius - Alistair Marcus*Trebonius - Samuel Niraj*Metellus Cimber - Muaad Razick*Artemidorus - Sushendra Peiris*Mark Antony - Draveen Ahamadeen*Lucius - Sanuda Perera*Caesar’s Servants - Akhlaq Gazzali, Murthaz Barry and Nabeel Barry