‘He Comes From Jaffna’ back on stage
Director Jith Peiris tells the Mirror Mag that despite being a comedy, the play has always carried with it a deeper message of a united community
Perhaps one of the most striking features of Sri Lanka, to the rest of the world is its multicultural society. It’s quite a beautiful thing to see people come together from all walks of life, to live in harmony. E. F. C. Ludowyk’s play ‘ He comes from Jaffna’, directed by Jith Peiris, despite being a comedy, has always carried with it a deeper message of a united community.
The production was first staged by Jith more than twenty years ago and saw successful runs both in Colombo and outstat i o n . Since then Jith has done several reruns of it over the years, the last being in 2013.
The vintage production will be staged once again on February 15, 16 and 17 starting at 7.30 pm at the Lionel Wendt theatre.
“I want the newer generations to be aware of the past and hope in a small way that we could contribute to cement relations between our communities,” Jith tells us as we sit down for a chat at his home in wardplace.
A record player softly plays in the background as we walk in. Jith sits in his study, surrounded by his collection of books and a beaming smile on his face.
He tells us the intention behind reviving this play is because it’s very relevant to the present day. It represents that once upon a time, Sri Lankans accepted a multicultural society in the best sense.
“Every community could occasionally make jokes at each other’s expense, and no one would take offence.” But of course times changed and the people with it. Jith finds, “surprisingly” that the attitudes and approach of today’s youth are different and the communities mix much more.
We talk about how Jith came about to directing the play to which he tells us, the request had come from the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who was himself a fan of the production. We talk about how Jith came about to directing the play to which he tells us, the request had come from the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who was himself a fan of the production.
He had met Jith at a function and had asked him why he hadn’t done the play. The reply that followed was that despite making several trips to the Young Men’s Christian Association ( YMCA), Jith could never get the script.
“You do the play and I’ll look after the rest, he told me,” Jith says.
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