Bearing it all: An out of the ordinary performance
stage presence. This week, we conversed with the cast and director, who gave us an insight into their journey.
Director Aslam Marikkar, who had recently begun working at the school, was quick to notice the eagerness of the students towards drama. Funnily enough though, at the onset Aslam had thought the students wanted to skip the competition this year. Then one day at the beginning of the third term, the senior students appeared at the staff room and told him they wanted to participate. “My reply was fine if only you can commit.They were an amazing group of guys to work with. They stayed true to their word,” he recalls.
The idea to stage ‘Romeo and Juliet’ had come with the song that the cast performed at the end of the play, Aslam tells us. He adds this was an original track, which was composed by the school’s choir master Lasantha Tennakoon. The tune which is performed at Act 1 Scene 5, is sung according to the exact text in the script.
“I believe this is the first time something like this was done with a Shakespeare text.” We talk about the decision to keep the set to a minimum. As Aslam puts it, he felt the story was the important aspect that needed to be focused on and this is clearly explained through the text. Therefore, when it came to directing the play, he simply guided the students to let the text come to life through the acting. And the cast took it from there.
The audience was left to form a