How many ages hence shall this our lofty scene be acted over in States unborn and accents yet unknown – Cassius in Julius Caesar
The 46th All-Island Shakespeare Drama Competition where 33 schools from all over the island participated, came to a close on September 27 for the girls and on September 29 for the boys. The Chief Guests were President YMCA Colombo Vijith Peiris and Kala Keerthi Jerome de Silva. The girl’s schools finalists were Bishops’ College, Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya and Museaus College while the boys schools were Trinity, St Joseph’s, Ananda and Wesley.
The competition continues to be a highlight in the schools’ calendars as the students, teachers, directors, parents and theatre fans look forward to ‘Shakes’, the spring board for the growth of English theatre in Sri Lanka. It empowers the youth, setting very high standards in recognising their talent, creating a space for creativity and bringing out innovative and thrilling experiences on stage.
While congratulating the overall winners (Bishops & Trinity), it needs to be emphasised that participation is more important than winning. Through participation, students develop skills and knowledge in drama and public speaking, which are useful for their overall development. I’m sure the judges had a tough time in selecting the overall winners – the margins would have been razor thin.
Kudos to the Organizing Committee lead by Rtn PP Dulip Jayamaha QC, the Rotarians of Colombo North and the Members of the Colombo YMCA for their hard work and commitment.
Kudos also to the teachers and others responsible for training the young thespians. Especially to the teachers of the finalist schools – Boys - Aslam Marikkar of Trinity, Camilta Perera of St Joseph’s, Samanthi Perera of Ananda and Anusha Senaratne of Wesley. Girls: Ashini Fernando of Bishops, Niranjani Costa of Devi Balika, Sherika Fernando of Holy Family and Chitranie Abeyrathe of Museaus. You’ve done a great job! Keep it up.
