There remains no hyperbole in declaring the fact that only a drama with an exceptional identity and characteristic has the ability to be nominated for the state drama festival.
‘Premaye Nagaraya’, directed by W.G.G.A. Asanka Pushpakumara bears testimony to the above declaration.
Speaking to the Youth Observer, director Asanka Pushpakumara noted that the play is the Sinhala translation of ‘Our Town’ by a renowned and celebrated American playwright Thornton Wilder. Wilder’s ‘Our Town’, is one of the most sought after plays which is performed almost every day somewhere in the United States.
A certain critic declared “The fictional town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, might be the idyllic America of yesteryear to which many long to return. The problem is it doesn’t exist, nor has it ever”. ‘Our Town’ won the celebrated Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1938. The person behind this unique and outstanding translation is Fernando, a lecturer at the University of Kelaniya whose carefully and sensibly crafted words are uGayan Randeera believably apt and moving. Randeera’s remarkable style and intrinsic and learned knack of maintaining the essence of the original play right throughout his translation is absolutely overwhelming and deserves a word of genuine appreciation.
Asanka Pushpakumara, the director of the ‘Premaye Nagaraya’ has armed himself with a special degree in Drama and Theatre from the University of Kelaniya. His alma mater is Poddiwela Maha Vidyalaya, Galle. Meanwhile, commenting further on the play, director Asanka remarked that his play has the capacity of revealing the depth of artistry of the original writer Wilder. It is apparent that the young blood in both Asanka and Randeera has collectively contributed towards the flow of an influx of novel ideas into ‘Premaye Nagaraya’ which comes out as one of the most outstanding plays that any theatre goer is able to imagine.
A moderate evaluator of the play would most probably comment on the fact that the play has given its emphasis on conveying a spiritual insight into the people’s day today activities which is at the outset is considered as a principal purpose of art. It is rather interesting to note that Asanka’ s excellence in directing has consistently and considerably been able to focus its emphasis on the artificiality of the play that invites the audience to take part in its creation which develops a sound audience interaction with the actors on stage.
Promising future
 A scene from the play |
Meanwhile, Randeera’s wider capacity in translating, made alive by the prominence of directing by Asanka further encourages the involvement of the audience, simply because of the fact that the translation itself is in line with Wilder’s original play in terms of using the language, situations, and familiar characters. With such remarkable dramatic strategies, ‘Premaye Nagaraya’ has come into the limelight, while making its director Asanka a formidable young dramatist with a promising future.
The play is at times a metaphor and a synonym for a play which has got an amazing ability of nudging the involvement of the audience towards the frequently unnoticed resonance of the people’s day today life.
As remarked by director Asanka, ‘Premaye Nagaraya’ itself is a classification of the dramas, preferred by Wilder who eventually leaves his audiences with an enhanced view of the possibilities of their lives by giving them a reminder of the death. Director Asanka said ‘Premaye Nagaray’ constantly reminds its audience of the stubborn fact that nobody is exempted from death, and it is able to convince the people that living a contented life is actually far more than simply the physical survival only”.
Researchers note that imagination and empathy flowing through the mind of the dramatist are sine qua non of a drama that is able to enrich the lives of its audiences. In that light, ‘Premaye Nagaraya’ keeps shining while coaxing its audiences towards a pragmatic awareness of uncertainties, involved in the people’s lives. The community that is presented in the play is neither ambiguous nor strange, as the audiences find that they are familiar with the characters and the events on which the drama focuses its attention.
It speculates on many more elements of which the usual ritual of family life, romance, marriage, and death are significant. As highlighted by Asanka, the play from the very outset itself reminds its audiences that death is a natural phenomenon which occurs on one ill-fated day that nobody is able to shun. It is noticed that Asanka’s ‘Premaye Nagaraya’ does not merely present the ordinary life in a small town but speculates on matters of great concern such as the influence that time is able to have on human lives.
Throughout the play, Asanka makes sure that he does turn the theatrical conventions inside out, while exposing the seams of his play.
As pointed out by him, the effects of theatre transcend the actors and the scripts. He further opined that the greatest legacy of performance remains in its effect on the human soul and in that context, his play does a remarkable role in presenting the eternal and universal human sentiments.
Truths
Asanka’s play is a distinct play which broadly explores the relationship between the isolated, individual occasion as well as that of the immeasurable repetitive pattern which emerge in order to create enduring truths. In that context, Asanka’ s play is a synonym for a statement declared by Thornton Wilder himself who shared “As an artist (or listener or beholder) which “truth” do you prefer - that of the isolated occasion, or that which includes and resumes the innumerable?......The theatre is admirably fitted to tell both truths”.
A rainbow of actors, comprising 20 students studying drama and theatre at the Kelani Higher Education Institute where the director Asanka is an instructor, contribute to get the play up on the stage. Asanka is proud and glad of the amazing and remarkable artistic skills and talents of his students who are absolutely committed to their assigned roles despite immense hardships and financial constraints that are predominant among them.
“Our infrastructure is not really satisfactory. We mostly struggle to find a place even for rehearsals. In spite of such difficulties, we have always been confidently together right throughout, and I strongly believe that the collective responsibility by which we are bound keeps us going smoothly even amidst difficulties,” Asanka said.
The play is produced by the theatre players of the Kelani Higher Education Institute. Apart from getting nominated for the State Drama Festival, in 2019, at the National Youth Festival, the play received an award from the Jury, while simultaneously bagging the award for the best supporting actress as well.
Meanwhile, apart from being the director of the play, Asanka collaborates with Sachini Poornima and Thamali Uthpala in costume designing. Asanka also joins with Yasantha Buddhika Gamage in choreography while he is also joined by Sanduni Madubashini Somarathne in stage designing.The play’s make up is attended by Chamira Sampath Bandara. Hasitha Buddhika Gunasingha, Saman Kumara Aberathna and Udara Chathuranga Bandara are involved with the stage management. Saman Malalasekara and Tharindu Madhushanka Jayasundara are responsible for stage lighting while Gayan Maduranga Gamage joining as its music director.
Passion
Acting and producing have been Asanka’s passion. His willingness and persuasiveness to take artistic risks has crafted an outstanding actor and a director in him. Asanka teaches drama and theatre at Gonagala Maha Vidyalaya, Galle where ‘Mati Karaththaya’ (The clay Cart), directed by him won several awards at the all-island school drama festival held in 2019.
‘Mati Karaththaya’ which is the debut of almost every student actor at Gonagala Maha Vidyalaya was awarded the second place for production. It was also presented with the jury’s special award, given for acting. Meanwhile, Asanka was positioned in second place for direction. It also won second place both in the categories of the best music and costume. ‘Mati Karaththaya’, outshining all the other competing plays, won first place for stage management. ‘Mati Karaththaya’ was also placed second for choreography. Asanka’s artistic intellectualism and professionalism paved the way for the ‘Mati Karaththaya’ in winning the first,second and the third places in the best actor category.
Asanka has tested his acting, stage management and set designing skills in the world-renowned dramas produced by the Academic players of the University of Kelaniya which includeThe Pot of Gold by Plautus, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by William Shakespeare, ‘Widows’ by Ariel Dorfman, Lysistrata by Aristophanes, ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’ by Federico Garcia Lorca, ‘The Seagull’ by Anton Chekhov and ‘Oedipus’ and ‘Antigone’ by Sophocles. Director Asanka extends an open invitation to the theatre lovers to see ‘Premaye Nagaraya’ at the Elphinstone theatre, Maradana at 6.30 p.m. on the 01st of March.