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To Be or Knot To Be – an unfortunate question

11 Nov 2018

It’s been a hot minute since the Sri Theatre company has had a production for the Lankan theatre-going audience, and their latest play To Be or Knot To Be was definitely worth the wait. Written and directed by Aslam Marikkar, the play was staged for the second time this year, at the Namel Malani Punchi Theatre on 3 November. If you caught the play back in April, when it was staged in Kandy, you may have noticed that the then leads – Rochana and Sidath – had been recast, now starring Mithma as the headstrong and too-young-for-marriage Rukaiya, and Chanaka as the hilariously cheeky Nazeer, who is unwittingly ensnared into a marriage with an uncertain bride. Speaking about why he picked this particular subject matter for his latest effort, Aslam said: “A good plot is found where you write with experience,” adding that, while this may be represented as the troubles of a young Muslim couple, you will realise that these are quite generally Sri Lankan troubles. Culture, familial pressure and obligations, religious beliefs warring with growth, exposure, and liberal new agey belief systems – all very familiar concerns dealt with by Sri Lankan youth on the daily – run as themes in the play. The best thing about the entirety of Aslam’s production is how genuinely funny it really was. Every joke landed perfectly; even the would-be awkward moments were absolutely comical – a true testament to fantastic writing, overall solid performances, and a universal relatability, even if one happens to be a non-Muslim. [gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="11792,11791,11787,11790,11788"] Despite the generally strong performances however, the part of the aunt proved to be the weakest link. It was unfortunate that the music, which on any other day would have brought a tear to anyone’s eye, was unable to squeeze even a smidgen of sympathy due to the noncommittal performance. The play is also terribly dialogue heavy – not a lot is left for the audience to figure out; everything is quite literally spelled out, and this, at least to some extent, felt much like a lack of faith in the audience to grasp what was being delivered. Regardless of the few gripes, which are really few and few between, To Be or Knot To Be was an insightful local production that was unapologetically honest and truly looked inward at Lankan society and its, often misguided, values. The audience reaction was overall extremely positive. Janice Avery, who was utterly frustrated that her friends and family were unable to watch the show, said: “It was wonderfully timely, and being married to a Moor I understand firsthand, and I only wish the rest of my family and friends could have caught the show.” Hanim Cader, who was there with a friend, said: “Since I’m Muslim, I really appreciated the context. It was really funny. The thoughts expressed were very liberal. They discussed big topics of course, but in a very light-hearted way.” [caption id="attachment_11793" align="alignnone" width="300"] Hanim Cader[/caption] Shanali Fernando said: “It was a very free-flowing story. I thought it really showcased to society something that is very much a current issue – these arranged marriages and all – and it was very perceptive.” Aslam on Sri Lankan theatre Being a Sri Lankan playwright, Aslam is ever immersed in the Lankan theatre scene and in addition to his play; he also shared his opinion of the nature and unfortunate plight of theatre – particularly English theatre in the island. Like many others in the industry, he too is rather disappointed with the current wave of “amateur” theatre productions being staged; all of which are of foreign origin and not original productions that are relatable to the Lankan audience. The art of creating an original script and putting together an altogether original production appears to be an art that is all but lost to the Lankan theatre scene. He further added that the average Sri Lankan allocates Rs. 150 for entertainment a year, and with exceedingly commercial productions being brought down, that allocation is entirely consumed by conglomerates with not a care for the growth of the local artistes and their work. Theatre, after all, is a business; there is a commercial aspect to it that not many acknowledge and the strength of an industry depends on how much investment it is able to draw and its sustainability is highly dependent on producing good work, which is inevitable when artistes are able to confidently dedicate their time and effort. By Dimithri Wijesinghe

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