Mind Adventures’ new production, another original devised piece, will use both shadow-play and puppetry to reinterpret and explore the story of the Valahassa Jathaka tale. It features she-demons (yakkhinis) and a Flying Cloud Horse – so you see where our fascination with it lies.
Mind Adventures hopes to use the fertile ground of local mythology to explore and unravel old as well as modern truths, drawing parallels between fiction and reality, and then and now. The play, currently an untitled WIP, will also explore the complex nature of politics and power: the dynamic between political manipulation and ambition, political agendas and alliances, and the hunger for power and the abuse of power.
We’re also excited to be working with, for the first time, the theatrical devices of shadow-theatre and puppetry. We had an opportunity to merely scratch the surface of some rudimentary shadow-theatre with the short piece we devised for the BUNKA awards last year, but with this production, we’re able to more fully experiment and explore the possibilities with this device.
We’re delighted we’re working with Sulochana Dissanayake, a graduate of Bates College (USA) and an actor and dramatist well-versed in the mechanics of puppetry and shadow-puppetry, who will be devising as well as performing. We also have Nushelle de Silva joining our cast, who most recently played the title role in Caryl Churchill”s ‘The Skryker’ at Princeton University.Sarah Kester, a theatre enthusiast with extensive experience in Costume Design, and Thilini Perera, a Graphic Designer who’s just discovered her love for Stop-Motion Animation form the Art Department that is bringing to life the visual element of the show through shadows and cut-outs.
Click here to view Deshan Tennekoon’s set of our weekend sessions.
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