MEET THE CAST OF A STREETCAR
In celebration of Lionel Wendt turning 60 years, the Workshop Players under the direction of veteran Jerome De Silva, together with a stellar cast line-up, are putting together the iconic American play, “A Streetcar Named Desire.” The production of the play is a heartfelt tribute by the Workshop Players to the Lionel Wendt, their long-standing theatrical sanctuary. A workshop will also be held on Sunday (14th) for students who are currently studying the play as a text, as part of the educational agenda of the production. Those playing leads in ASND shared their thoughts on their character and its interpretation, what their respective roles entail and on the experience as a whole working with Jerome and the rest of the cast. Look forward to a preview of the play and what it has to offer which we will be compiling for you soon!
Mario De Soyza (Stanley Kowalski)
“Stanley Kowalski is a bit of a mystery. You wouldn’t exactly know how to end up feeling for him, and that’s what’s most intriguing about playing the character. The playwright has given you a fair playing field with this one and as long as you don’t box yourself into previous interpretations, it opens up many ways to portray him. Essentially he’s a pretty brash male who wants to dominate. He’s what I’d possibly call a modern day monster but yet he contradicts this with his very genuine periodical affection for Stella. Anyone who is a fan of the work would have seen Marlon Brando immortalize the role. For me though I think it’s important to do what I do and focus on my strengths and that’s what I’ve been working on the past three months. The play itself is challenging in the sense that it’s stripped down. It’s just you and the audience on this fairly lengthy journey. Ensuring that they come along with you is the biggest challenge but that is also what makes the play enjoyable from an actor’s point
of view.” Continued on
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BIMSARA PREMARATNE (Blanche DuBois)
“It is an absolute honour being able to work with the Workshop Players for the first time! And to be taking part in a play so iconic! The role of Blanche is very complex: she is delicate, refined, and sensitive but she is also damaged and destroyed within. On the run looking for some shelter she ends up destitute on her sister’s doorstep. As a result of the losses she experienced early in life, Blanche has a tendency to expect physical attraction by all the men she encounters as a validation of her existence. This fatal “desire” takes her spiraling further down. Blanche has multiple personalities which she caters to different people she encounters. Playing the character Blanche, apart from the mastering of the very lengthy dialogue she has to keep up, maintaining the many different ‘personalities’ Blanche portrays to other characters, is the most challenging. Her emotional highs and lows are equally volatile and quite tricky to master. The guidance from the Director and the support from the co-actors have been immensely helpful to which I am very grateful.”
ANDRÉ PERERA (Harold Mitchell)
“When it comes to the role of Mitch, I think this character plays closer to heart. He’s more me, or I’m more him. He’s described as a nice guy with some unrefined habits. I like being able to play a serious character now and then. It helps me improve as an actor on stage. Learning how to bring out the character from within and not overacting is an integral part of being a serious actor. I’d say staying true to the character that Tennessee Williams has written into the story is challenging. Mitch isn’t the star of the show, but he’s entwined in the web that Blanche finds herself trapped within, giving her hope and himself hope of not being alone. I find that I need to be able to not act on stage but be real, be genuine, relatable and believable. And a play such as this begs for such characteristics since there are no big musical numbers, no pomp, no pageant, just a few people on stage living a story. I have to give all credit to Jerome for showing me the ropes and allowing me to stand in the spotlight on many an occasion.”
SHANUKI DE ALWIS (Stella Kowalski)
“It’s a far more contained role than I have played in the past. It’s also my first supporting role. Stella is not as glamorous a role as Evita or as charismatic as Maria from ‘Sound of Music’ or Nancy from ‘Oliver!’ She is subdued and domesticated, quite a sweet personality and completely unlike me! It’s not as challenging. But I have struggled within myself to play the abused housewife and to bring out her weaknesses as a woman, when I have always played fairly strong female roles before this. I am an advocate of women’s rights and am against gender violence, so the struggle that Stella faces in this play affects me a bit, especially when I have to suppress the feminist in me! The other little challenge I’m experimenting with is using a semblance of a Southern New Orleans accent on stage. Obviously, it will sound ridiculous if local actors try to mimic Americans because it just won’t be believable, but I’m trying to develop a sense of the location of the play in the accent I use in my performance, without going overboard. We’ll just have to see how people accept it. I like the fact that a lot of women out there can relate to Stella, and her journey is very similar to many so I am able to be ‘human’, rather than ‘acting’ a part.”