Henry, Manel and Bertolt Brecht

"What is rather poignant about the current production of Hunuwataye Kathawa is that we witness before our very eyes, the old order changing yielding place to new. There is a visible succession of generations. Henry and Manel are there."

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by Prof. Carlo Fonseka

(March 02, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) For many of my gradually vanishing generation, to think of Henry Jayasena is to remember Azdak in the stage play Hunuwateye Kathawa, Piyal in the film Gamperaliya and Sudu Mama in the episodic teledrama Du Daruwo . Henry gave enduring life to those characters and imprinted them indelibly on our minds. As long as memory lasts we will remember them and ipso facto, Henry Jayasena.

Avatars

But, of course, in Shakespeare’s memorable phrase, "all that live must die/Passing through nature to eternity". Disease has already taken its toll of Henry. And he is acutely aware that, as we learnt at school, "To every man upon this earth/Death cometh soon or late." He has demonstrated that he can unblinkingly look Death in the face and ask," O Death where is thy sting?" He does seem to fear, though, that his grave may also become the grave of his mightiest character, Judge Azdak. If so, with Henry’s exit, victory would go to the grave. Therefore, in strategic anticipation, he has taken steps to ensure that his Azdak will live after he is gone. To be plain what I mean, Henry has begotten the avatar of his Azdak.

If ever, as Hamlet said, "man and wife is one flesh" Henry and Manel are. For some 40 years they have known each other and for most of that time they have played together on and off stage. So it is just unthinkable that Henry should wish to perpetuate his Azdak, without also seeking to perpetuate the other principal character in Hunuwataye Kathawa, namely, Manel’s Grusha. Indeed, natural justice demands it. After all, Bertolt Brecht’s world famous play ‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle’ of which Hunuwataye Kathawa is the Sinhala version is, quintessentially, a play about justice. So he has begotten an avatar of Manel’s Grusha too. More accurately I should say, Henry and Manel have together begotten the whole new big cast of Hunuwataye Kathawa.

Rejuvenation

I had the privilege of witnessing their conception at the Janakala Kendraya on 8 August 2003. I also had the pleasure of witnessing their birth at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on 10 February 2004. I write to rejoice in the rejuvenation of Hunuwataye Kathawa and to proclaim the good news to the world. Those who love the Sinhala Theatre are duty bound to sustain the dramatic progeny of Henry and Manel.

Bertolt Brecht

To tell nothing but the truth, it was Henry Jayasena’s Hunuwataye Kathawa that introduced me to Bertolt Brecht (1898 - 1956) rated by many critics as the greatest dramatist of the 20th Century.

Hunuwataye Kathawa fascinated me when I first saw it in 1967. It has fascinated me every time I have seen it since. Why so? I ask myself. Apart from the intrinsic dramatic merits of the play, I think that Henry Jayasena has a great deal to do with it.

In the film Gamperaliya (1963) young Henry Jayasena, barely into his thirties, was mere putty in the hands of Lester James Peiris. In Du Daruwo, the mature Henry was pure gold pressed into the service of Somaweera Senanayake. It was, above all, in Hunuwataye Kathawa that Henry Jayasena did his own thing. True, the original sprawling play, The Cancasian Chalk Circle, running for some 3* hours, was written by Bertolt Brecht. One gathers that Brecht blazed trails, not only as an unorthodox playwright, but also as a revolutionary producer of plays. Indeed, some critics have argued that Brecht’s major contribution to theatre is not as a playwright but as a producer. However that may be, Henry Jayasena seems to have gone one better than Brecht himself. He translated the play and densely packed it to 2* hours. Drawing on our cultural heritage, he produced it in a theatrical idiom easily comprehensible to us. And he played the key role of Azdak with a consummate brilliance and nonchalance. Moreover, he commissioned a highly talented musician Shelton Premaratne to create for the play a memorable score. No wonder, the show has been performed on demand over 3000 times upto date. Beginning in 1978, the script of Hunuwataye Kathawa was a school text for about 20 years.

The Mother Test

For his faithful translation of Brecht’s play and its skilful production, Henry Jayasena earned the fulsome praise of Regi Siriwardene, surely the most knowledgeable and perceptive literary critic in this country in our time. (Sadly, for some months now, Regi has been chronically ill) We respond to Hunuwataye Kathawa because its theme is a variation on a famous problem solved by Pandith Mahushada in the Ummagga Jathakaya and King Solomon in the Old Testament of the Bible. In all three situations, the problem was to determine which one of two women, each claiming the right of possession of a child on the ground that she is in fact the true mother of the child. In all cases the critical test that was applied was based on the same principle. In Hunuwataye Kathawa, which derives its name from the test, a chalk circle is drawn, at the centre of which the child is placed. The two contending women are asked to pull at the child from opposite sides. Here, it is Grusha, the non-biological mother, who fails to pull for fear of hurting the child, and therefore passes the test.

Accordingly, Judge Azdak rules that the right to possess the child is Grusha’s. Reason: it is Grusha who manifested true motherly feelings towards the child. It is she who lovingly cared for the child. Therefore, it is she who proved herself fit to be the child’s mother. This is a new principle of justice: the right of possession should belong to those who do the work, and not to those who own the means of production. Take it or leave it!

Henry Jayasena’s Azdak is unforgettable because Azdak is a walking bundle of contradictions. He is screamingly amoral, openly corrupt, shamelessly opportunistic, congenitally self-seeking, a premeditated assault on human decency committed in broad daylight. And yet, in the end, he gets my sympathy. If you are as immoral and as fair-minded as I consider myself to be, I bet Azdak will get your sympathy too. Put yourself to the test, if you doubt me.

Succession

What is rather poignant about the current production of Hunuwataye Kathawa is that we witness before our very eyes, the old order changing yielding place to new. There is a visible succession of generations. Henry and Manel are there. But on the stage Azdak is played by Nalin Pradeep Uduwela and Grusha by Ruwini Manamperi. As I say, they are the avatars of Henry and Manel respectively. Or, if you like, they are chips of the old models. Henry and Manel told me that they can now rest in peace because their eyes have seen the future of Hunuwataye Kathawa and it is working superbly.

Henry invited me to see Hunuwataye Kathawa once again when it has a three-day-run at the Namel-Malini Punchi Theatre (NMPT) in Borella two years ago. Incidentally, if you haven’t been to the NMPT you haven’t still seen the most charming small theatre that I have ever seen anywhere in the world. Henry and Manel will be delighted to see us there. Let us honour them by our presence and support their cause for having delighted us so much for so long.

(The article originally published in 2004)