The bigger Looking at ‘Fruit Cake’ picture through
The cast of Methodist College will gear up for a gripping drama when they present ‘ Fruit Cake’ at the end of this month.
The play is an original, devised production set in an all- female psychiatric hospital. Through the patients’ stories and experiences the cast hope to bring out certain issues in society such as physical and sexual abuse, the fear of failure, and problems with body image.
The production is directed by Ruvin De Silva who currently serves as Associate Artistic Director of the Mind Adventures Theatre Company, with whom he has worked on productions like Paraya, Only Soldiers, Rondo and The Traveling Circus. He also directed their production of Aer Class in 2013.
The characters for ‘Fruit Cake’ have been developed by the girls themselves, with the guidance of the director, and are based on their own personal experiences, pressures reported by other children in the school, and research on current social problems.
Organisers say the play does not intend to give any answers, but intends to give a glimpse into much larger social issues and provoke the audience to search their own experiences for their individual responses.
The play is an expanded version of the school’s performance of ‘Desert Places’ performed at the Drama Comp last year (organized by Royal College) which won four awards, including best production. For this version some of the stories have been developed further, some have been left out, and some have been added, according the the organizers.
The play will go on the boards of the British School Auditorium May 29 and 30 at 7.30pm at the British School auditorium.