Samurai.. directed by tracy holsinger staged at the british council garden.
well oh well.. after many months of having limited myself to sports and studies and an occasional party here and there i finally decided to step out of the familiar walls of my life and experience the art of drama. and what a way to step out. samurai was a treat.. and would have been a treat for anyone who went for it. from the brilliant acting to the costumes and the story itself this play was for everyone.
for the benefit of anyone who missed out on it heres the story of what came to pass that night. skip it if you were there already.
samurai tells the story of a village which was saved from poverty by a golden samurai sword brought by a young boy named Yuki. the sword imbued with magical powers to grant whatever the villagers which for ensured that no one went hungry or unsatisfied again.
the blessing became the doom of the village as the citizens soon became lazy obese and arrogant. having become bored with the monotonous life they lead they ask the sword to show them the future which it seems unable to do which prompts them to sleep instead. moments later “disaster” strikes them when the young boy Yuki returns to take back the sword to the samurai warriors who had loaned it for a period of exactly one year.
outraged the citizens initially refuse and then seem to rethink their actions and pretend to go along with Yuki and agree to hand back the sword. having lost the ability to think of a plan the citizens seek the help of the empress who refuses saying that the sword should be returned.
what follows is a swift change of pace as betrayal follows betrayal and the citizens begin a blood thirsty hunt for the sword which is now in the hands of the boy Yuki and the empress who soon fall victim to the now maddened citizens. moments later the citizens themselves are killed by the guardians of the sword.
at this moment the scene shifts back to the citizens waking up from their sleep commenting on a dream that they all seemed to share. asking themselves the question if they could have been so inhuman they mill about confused. and then Yuki returns.
end of story..
well what can i say. the story itself was brilliant.. but what brought that story to life that night was amazing. basics first.
lights… nice. simple but gave the exact effect needed to portray each scene and to show the emotions with it. however there were several places especially the scenes of the forbidden forest where they could have done with a tad more imagination to give more of an effect of eeriness. but still very solid overall.
music.. once again solid. but i did notice that the speakers were only on one side of the gardens. not ideal but it still worked. thank goodness for BOSE. still very nice soundtrack.. definitely one of the factors that brought the play to life.
backdrops. simple.. i can’t really say much. maybe they could have done it better but i liked it as it was. they went with the whole less is more thing which actually showcased the talent of the actors a whole load better.
and yes moving on.. the acting. i loved it so much.. and why? because of the way each actor portrayed his or her character.. specially utamaro and kung. and even more than the portrayal was how each character evolved and changed throughout the play.
seeing that i went only on one day.. saturday i can’t really give a fair review of the entire cast although i did not hear many favorable reviews on the cast that acted on sunday. but atleast for what i saw.
kung- ryan holsinger. brilliant. hilarious. and truly a pathetic sight during the play. deranged. what more can i say. bravo. (and also i’d like to know how he does that thing with his jaw… does he dislocate it during the show??)
empress-subha. good acting though not the best of the show. but her scene in the dungeon was brilliant. i in fact felt like running up there to help her myself but i restrained myself quite professionally and let Yuki hog the lime light.
Yuki- Jehan. apparently known quite fondly as lil j. he did his role quite well.. though i was told he had a lot of energy i think he could have done with a bit more. but as it was i still liked it.
the royal proclamation reader.- Sulochana. oh that was evil. very evil. she honestly scared the heck out of all of us and gave me goose bumps during her best (and last) moment in the dungeon. honestly. where did she learn to scream like that.
Buncho and Sharaku-Nuzrath and Wassaam respecitvely. they didn’t have especially juicy roles but then they didn’t exactly play their roles in a fantastic way. let’s leave it at average.
Nishimura – Ruvin. sigh.. my least favourite actor of the play. i honestly can’t put my finger on it bu there was something about his acting that put me off. maybe it was his slightly over the top character he was supposed to play which he played a little too over the top. although he did pull off his part nicely where he shows remorse and regret for the murder he committed.
Utomaro- Brandon. OMG! my favourite actor. using exactly the right amount of energy in the right places and playing his character like it should be. the way he transformed from a person unable to think but still being able to play the leader when getting everyone else to think, to a cunning strategist during the confrontation with Kung to a person who was willing to kill for more reasons than a moment of passion. and then back to himself. wonderful. bravo.
overall… what can i say it was fantastic and an awesome way for me to go back to the theater after so long. the chemistry between the cast.. and all the other factors behind the play made this a play which is going to be in everyones mind for a long long time.
kudos to tracy. you are firmly lodged as the best director i know in the sri lankan scene. hope to see many more from you.
You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind. ~Author Unknown
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