23 July 2000

Dharmasiri does it again

Kala Korner by Dee Cee

Awards are nothing new to versatile dramatist Dharmasiri Bandaranayake. Almost every time he produced a play, he was sure of bagging a couple of awards. In 1976, 'Eka Adhipati' won the first place at the State Drama Festival. 'Makarakshaya' was Best Production and Best Play (Translations) in 1986. 'Yakshagamanaya' was the Best Production in 1995. And now it's 'Trojan Kanthawo'.

'The Trojan Women', one of the 17 tragedies written by Greek dramatist Euripedes (484-406 B.C) was first performed in Athens in 415 B.C. It was one of his plays where women were the central characters, usually involved in extreme situations. Dharmasiri's production (by the same name) was voted the Best Play 1999 at the State Drama Evaluation (they felt shy to call it 'Festival' this year because the country is on a war footing and festivals are taboo!) recently. He was also awarded the prize for Best Director. He had designed the costumes and stage decor for the play. They were the best too. 

There were more awards. Jerome de Silva, better known in English theatre circles handled the choreography. He was rewarded for his effort with the award for best choreography. Nimal Bulath-sinhala's lighting brought him an award and Ranga Bandaranayake, got the award for stage management. The best supporting actor and actress awards were won by Jayasiri Chandrajith and Yasodha Wimaladharma respectively.

This is Dharmasiri's fifth major production. He has been active since 1974 when he produced 'Chulodara Mahodara' written by school mate Hemasiri Liyanage. 

He made his mark on the stage with 'Eka Adhipati' (1976) and nearly ten years later his 'Makarakshaya' (translation of 'The Dragon') became the talk of the town. 'Dhawala Bheeshana' produced in 1988 was a translation of Jean Paul Sartre's 'Men without Shadows' . He continued his interest in translations with 'Yakshagamanaya' (1994), Bertolt Brecht's 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui', a play written in 1941.