I know that man... He comes from Jaffna!

Theatre enthusiasts both young and old gathered at the Lionel Wendt theatre to witness the spectacle that is E.F.C. Ludowyk’s “He Comes From Jaffna”, organised by the Creative Arts Foundation in conjunction with the Old Boys Association of S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia. We found ourselves being taken back to the year 1908, where there was a residual feeling of colonialism in the air and patriarchy ruled the household, while the “Appu” kept it clean. It was a time when caste and creed governed society and twenty-five thousand rupees meant a bigger deal than it does today. Ludowyk’s work tells the tale of Durai and his visit to Colombo, where he comes to visit his son, Aru, and his brother-in-law Cleveland. More than anything, the play focuses on the dynamic between Durai and Cleveland interspersing the plot with other little stories which only added to the rapport between the two brothers.

Anuruddha takes on the role of Durai for the that he was the one who was truly being played. fourth time in his career, definitely bringing out the Danu Innasithamby played Aru, Durai’s son. slightly clumsy but overbearing father-ly nature of The fact that he fails to live up to his father’s the big framed man from the North. Performing image of him had him constantly thinking of ways such a role is no small feat, but Anuruddha pulled to avoid his father’s questions, which added to the it off effortlessly. He plays the main character and comedy of it all. the father of Aru, constantly reminding everyone Swasha Malalasekara gave the audience a around him and most importantly his son about the wonderful performance as Marion Rajaratnam, importance of money. It is a character trait which “Lady” of the Rajaratnam household and the typical governs the majority of the storyline. image of a delicate and upright English woman

Cleveland Rajaratnam, played by Hans with a not-so-subtle tone of condescension. She Billimoria, is the other side of that coin. While was always a few steps ahead of Cleveland, Durai prefers to save every penny, Cleveland always knowing what to say and often having him prefers to help anyone who is down on their luck struggling to catch up. financially. It was a wonderful interpretation of a Martin the “Appu”, played by Dilushka De man from up-north trying his best to fit in and a Mel, showed a very thinly veiled respect towards clear-cut contrast with that of Durai. What stood out his “master” and “Lady”, constantly listening in in this performance was his ability to convince his on their conversations while either pretending wife that there was always a reason to help another to dust furniture or being overly conscious of person, even though it was clear to the audience whether one or the other would like to have a tea. This was a wonderfully exaggerated portrayal of a typical cook and while the character did not have a particularly large back story, he did contribute to a few crucial turning points in the story as the one person who is privy to the comings and goings of the bungalow.

Kovindu De Saram portrayed Isaacs, the burgher shoemaker who is indebted to Cleveland, giving the audience a performance that could have easily been plucked out of a Jam Fruit Tree.

Overall, the cast was absolutely hilarious and the audience was in fits of laughter. The stage and costumes were handled artistically, as it is with any Jith Pieris production. The veteran director truly managed to bring out a period of togetherness and show the audience that there really was a time where we could chime along to a single tune without any sort of animosity towards one another.