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Not knowing what was in store for
us, Kate Chamberlain and I set off
on the first leg of the fifteen hour
journey, firstly by plane before travelling
by road to Galle, a four hour
journey south of Colombo, the country’s
capital in the south west of this
beautiful island which is named
(very aptly, after Tsunami) the
teardrop in the Indian Ocean.
We soon got stuck in to the allocated
tasks, varying from tree planting,
replacing some of the many
trees which were destroyed along
the coastline to minor rebuilding
work, and, more commonly, painting
work, firstly at a home for elderly
men as well as painting and renovating
desks and chairs at a local
junior school. On one particular day early on in the first week we were taken to an orphanage at Yasadara, a district of Galle. It was suggested that some of the volunteers might like to spend some time with the thirty-four girls, aged 8 and upwards, to improve their English, which basically meant simply talking to, and communicating with them. Kate and I took up the challenge and went online to download and print off the ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’ interlude from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and other suitable stuff in the hope that it may be entertaining for the girls (many of whom didn't speak English) to read together. The typical working day ran from 10.00am until 4.00pm and we decided to carry on with all of the set tree planting and painting tasks before setting off each day to Yasadara for a couple of hours. From the very outset the girls showed amazing enthusiasm for the new project, and when some of the older girls (aged from 14 to 18) read through Pyramus and Thisbe for the first time it was apparent that this was going to take over for the next week and a half. We were going to rehearse and put on a short piece of Shakespeare with six Sri Lankan teenagers whose command of modern English language ranged from OK to virtually nil. The seventeenth century English of William Shakespeare was something else altogether! We gave out the parts and sat down to explain who they were in the play and what it was all about. At this stage we decided not to explain the intricacies of iambic pentameter! The girls were so eager to start to act it out as we set off together on what was to be a truly unforgettable experience. Each day just after 4.00pm we were greeted at the gate by a jubilant crowd of girls and, on entering, we would see each of the six cast in different parts of the grounds, script in hand, learning their lines. Each day they asked searching questions about the script and its meaning. Each day they worked so very hard to get it right. Each day they improved beyond belief. Costumes were assembled — a sari for Prologue; a painted cardboard box for Wall; a mask for Lion, etc and we set the date and time for the performance: Friday next at 5.00pm. Who the audience would be was quite another matter. Nerves began to kick in once the deadline was set — lines were studied that bit harder — the acting became almost melodramatic with overblown gestures, heavily emphasised verse speaking, and eventually we even manage to tackle the iambic pentameter. |
Friday, 1.00pm and our final
four hour session in the fierce blaze
of the Sri Lankan sun.2.00pm. Lines are all over the place as giggles set in. 2.30pm. Lion has gone missing. Send Wall to find her. 3.00pm. Lion returned but now Wall is missing. 3.15pm. All gathered for an OK run. Late adjustments. 4.00pm. Final run through in costume. Pyramus isn’t happy with her discovery of the ‘bloody shawl’ and asks if we can spend time on it. Moonshine wants more time on her piece. I take Pyramus to one side with her Oh dainty duck, Oh dear . . . . (imagine that in a Sri Lankan [Indian] accent!) while Kate spends time with Moonshine’s All I have to say is . . . . . 4.30pm. Chairs are being set out, the audience are arriving and we still have to do our final run through! 5.00pm. We’re ready to go on but are held up as audience are still coming in. 5.15pm. More chairs have to be found to seat the ever growing audience. 5.30pm. An expectant quiet descends on the assembled crowd as Prologue leads Pyramus, Thisbe, Wall, Moonshine and Lion onto the stage before delivering a perfect introduction to the piece. The characters introduced and ‘the play within a play’ is launched, beautifully delivered and brought to a thrilling conclusion to well deserved and rapturous applause. Curtain call and after show party with cake, cream soda Turkish Delight. The final analysis? “The speech was spoke trippingly and the air was sawed a little too much with the hand, thus” but we can give you our absolute promise that on that Sri Lankan Friday afternoon there were not two prouder people to be found on the face of this earth than Kate Chamberlain and Geoff Whipp. This article is from the Bournemouth Little Theatre Club's November newsletter and is reproduced here courtesy of the Editor, Tony Orman. The photograph is of Kate Chamberlain surrounded by the girls of Yasadara. |
