The final round of the All Island Interschool Shakespeare Drama Competition was held on October 2 with the competitions of the girls' category. Ave Maria Convent Negombo, Girls' High School Kandy, Ladies' College and Visakha Vidyalaya competed in this final rou nd.
From stomach splitting laughter to downright seriousness, the audience - those who had not been to the semis - were kept on the edge of their seats in wonderment, at how the plays were to proceed. The Shakespearean dramas were given a twist and turn and the schools gave off an overall stunning performance.
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However there were a few slips to be seen in the four plays. From projection to blunders in lighting, it was felt that the casts and crews needed to brush up their parts before they came on stage. Despite all that the contestants presented a spectacular performance.
Starting the final round of the competition with Ave Maria's 'As You Like It' saw the play making use of the entire stage. It was visible that some of the props used during the play were inconvenient to the actresses. The overall performance of the cast was commendable.
Witty gestures
'A Midsummer Night's Dream' performed by Girls' High School Kandy was an extremely unusual performance. With a switch from Greek to Kandyan the cast made the play more Sri Lankan. With Shakespearean language and the Kandyan attire, the overall experience was extraordinary.
This was deemed apt considering the choice of scenes and the focus of the play. Laying weight on the comic elements of the play and the witty gestures used left the audience drowning in laughter. Another rare feat was the involvement of a canine on stage.
Ladies' College performing 'Much Ado About Nothing' was entertaining while at the same time well directed. It was a play which portrayed strong characters and unusual human sets. The dancers used in the play instead of sets is worthy of mentioning, as the flow of the play was maintained due to this. Even though nothing out of the ordinary was perceived within this play, the subtle humour, the mastered use of lights and the overall performance were entertaining.
Polished and expert look
The final play 'Romeo and Juliet' by Visakha Vidyalaya was neatly presented. The scenes were cleverly edited which gave the play a polished and expert look. Though the play was slightly overacted the performance was outstanding with good sound effects.
Ladies' College went on to win the Girls' category of the Interschool Shakespeare Drama Competition, while Visakha Vidyalaya was the Runner-up. Ave Maria Convent Negombo came in as the second Runners-up and Girls' High School Kandy were the third Runners-up of the night. Girls' High School Kandy also won the Best Outstation Schools Award. As for individual awards, Best Actress All Island was awarded to Tehani Welgama of Ladies' College, while the Best Supporting Actress was awarded to Naveka Karunarathne of Visakha Vidyalaya. The Best Actress Outstation Schools was awarded to Niroshi Perera of Ave Maria Convent Negombo.
The boys' schools competitions, held on October 4, were equally entertaining. D. S. Senanayake College, Maris Stella College Negombo, St. Joseph's College, and Wesley College competed in this final round.
The plays ranged from mediocre to excellence, while the schools had interesting innovations up their sleeves! There are a few criticisms to be made of the overall performance of the plays. As the panel of judges noted 'there is room for improvement'. It was felt that the casts needed to pay more attention to aspects of drama such as voice projection and diction. Other than for which the overall plays were well enacted.
Excellent diction
The competition started with D. S. Senanayake College's 'Romeo and Juliet'. Character-wise, Mercutio was well played. The comic aspects were strongly brought out. However, Romeo's role should have been improved.
In terms of the entire play, the audience felt it was too long. The lapse of time was felt with the emphasis, the scenes chosen had on the entire play. Therefore, the audience thought that it was less entertaining.
Maris Stella College's 'A Mid Summer Night's Dream' was much liked by the audience. The funny actions and the punning had the audience in tears with laughter. Puck's role needs special mentioning as it was well enacted. In terms of criticism, they need to work on voice projection, but the overall performance was excellent.
'Hamlet' performed by St. Joseph's College was quite exceptional. With a cleverly edited script the play was neatly directed. With excellent diction and a good use of the entire stage, they pulled off a exceptional performance.
Wesley College too performed A 'Midsummer Night's Dream'. Their use of sets was limited to chairs which were pilled high, which paved way for the smooth flow of the play. Here too the character of Puck was well played.
A big shout-out
In terms of individual awards the Best Actor All Island was awarded to Daminda Wijayaratne of Maris Stella College Negombo. The Best Supporting Actor was awarded to Prathap Kumarapperuma of St. Joseph's College and the Best Actor for Outstation Schools was awarded to Daminda Wijayaratne of Maris Stella College Negombo. As for the schools awards, the Best Outstation Boys' School Award was awarded to Maris Stella College, Negombo.
The third Runner-up school was Wesley College; the second Runner-up was St. Joseph's College, while the Runner- up was awarded to D. S. Senanayake College. The Winners of the Interschool Shakespeare Drama Competition- Boys' Schools was awarded to Maris Stella College, Negombo.
Hemaka Amarasooriya of Singer Sri Lanka was the Chief Guest, while Singer Sri Lanka was the sponsor for the event. The Awards were handed over by Rtn. Dulip Jayamaha, President of the Rotary Club of Colombo North and D. R. A. Kannangara, President of the Colombo YMCA. Last but not least, a big shout-out to the YMCA and the Rotary Club of Colombo North for organising a successful event of this nature annually.
**This was written to the Daily News. To see the article click here.**
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