A zephyr blew across the island on Sunday, April 10, as Sri Lanka’s Hiran Abeysekera won the Best Actor for the stage adaptation of ‘Life of Pi’ at the prestigious Olivier Awards 2022 at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Life of Pi, based on the Booker prize winning novel of Canadian novelist Yann Martel was the zeal that brought out the zest at the Royal Albert Hall where Abesekera’s talent was at its zenith.Life of Pi is a universally acclaimed, smash hit adaptation of an epic journey that showcases hope and endurance.Life of pi is fantastical, and its director Max Webster’s outstanding and extraordinary West End production is breath-taking.
The jubilant Abeysekera was spotted picking up the award for his performances as the leading man on the West End play Life of Pi which was also able to receive a host of top prizes which included the best new play and the best supporting actor prize being shared by seven performers who play the tiger.
Abeysekera is invested with a knack of bringing a scripted character to life. The actor in Abeysekera is expressive, charming and charismatic. Abeysekera puts aside his own personality where he finds humanity even within the darkest of characters. As Pi, it is his portrayal of human emotion which is central in performing on the stage that gives room for his audiences to understand the complex language. Abeysekera has the ability of transforming himself beyond recognition that is considered as one of the much needed skills all great actors must have.
Abesekera relies on his own ability to transform himself where the audience is easily able to notice his character in particular. It is also widely known that an actor must have a star quality and a magnetic power to have a sustained audience attraction where Abeysekera’s magnetic power in acting gives no room for his audience to distance themselves from the magnificent actor in himself on stage.
The writer is of the firm belief that Abeysekera has mastered this particular skill and his audiences are remarkably drawn into him. The enormous self confidence that he demonstrates up on the stage is another crucial element that gives rise to his ever increasing popularity as a charismatic actor.
Abeysekera may also be a synonym for the great actor Laurence Olivier whose name was adopted by Britain’s most prestigious acting awards in 1984 which became known as the Olivier Awards of which the best actor award in 2022, was won by Abeysekera for his role as Pi.
Abeysekera, addressing the audience at the Royal Albert Hall, following the acceptance of his award, acknowledged that winning the award made him overwhelmed with joy and excitement. He said that he is surrounded by the love and generosity of many people. “I’m a result of a lot of love and the generosity of many. I hope you’re proud of me. My Sri Lanka is going through a bit of a tough time now, I think of you,and wish I was there with you,” he emotionally added.