A scene from the mini preview in December 2024
Plays: do you love to sing and dance? Here’s a chance to do both! Auditions are now open for the spectacular production of ‘A Christmas Carol – The Musical’, based on the novella by Charles Dickens, with music and lyrics by Jehan Aloysius.
Presented by Jehan and CentreStage Productions, which is celebrating its 24th anniversary, the effort involves months-long casting and will feature some of the biggest names in musical theatre, with Jehan himself playing the iconic role of Ebenezer Scrooge.
Jehan has been looking for the best voices in town over the last three months to feature as soloists. Right now the search is on for 10-15 singers and dancers, aged between 12 and 45, to join the cast, with amateur performers encouraged to try out as well.
If you’re keen, WhatsApp 0772949767 ASAP. Casting is scheduled to be completed by early May so grab this opportunity fast and be part of a Christmas production to remember.
I attended the special mini preview held last December and was amazed at the scale of what Jehan is undertaking this time. The full-blown production will take the stage later this year and promises to be a visually spectacular theatrical event, with cutting-edge special effects, costumes, and more.
More information is available on the censtrestage.lk Instagram page.
Poems: this week’s poem is one I’ve been meaning to share for a while – ‘Marriage’ by Lawrence Raab.
Years later they find themselves talking
about chances, moments when their lives
might have swerved off
for the smallest reason.
What if
I hadn’t phoned, he says, that morning?
What if you’d been out,
as you were when I tried three times
the night before?
Then she tells him a secret.
She’d been there all evening, and she knew
he was the one calling, which was why
she hadn’t answered.
Because she felt—
because she was certain—her life would change
if she picked up the phone, said hello,
said, I was just thinking
of you.
I was afraid,
she tells him. And in the morning
I also knew it was you, but I just
answered the phone
the way anyone
answers a phone when it starts to ring,
not thinking you have a choice.
The Barbeque Nation dining experience features a live grill at every table
The action stations are proving to be quite popular, like this chaat counter
Plates: a leading Indian dining chain, Barbeque Nation opened its first outlet in Sri Lanka recently at the Colombo City Centre (CCC) mall, bringing the concept of barbeque live grills at one’s own table to town.
The Barbeque Nation dining experience features a grill at every table, which allows guests to grill their own food as they see fit, along with an unlimited buffet spread featuring Indian, Mughlai, Mediterranean, and Asian flavours, along with a selection of desserts.
The action stations are proving to be quite popular – my favourite is the chaat counter, which offers a wide variety of scrumptious pani puri, while the meat and seafood BBQ counter is quite popular too.
Great for celebrations and family gatherings, Barbeque Nation is certainly set to be a hit among Sri Lankans, given its delicious fare, reasonable fixed pricing, and unique dining experience.
Tip: Monday-Thursday lunch features the same dining experience at a lower price.
Pages: there are some great books being published this month; here are some from a ‘must read in 2025’ list that grabbed my attention:
- ‘Matriarch’ by Tina Knowles
- ‘Heartwood’ by Amity James
- ‘The Float Test’ by Lynn Steger Strong
- ‘The Pretender’ by Jo Harkin
- ‘When the Harvest Comes’ by Denne Michele Norris
- ‘Somadina’ by Akwaeke Emezi
- ‘The Bright Years’ by Sarah Damoff