Somebody took me to the Forum

Wow! Well an interesting evening! Rather shrouded by thunderous unseasonal monsoon rain but going to the theater this evening with Francesca was quite an experience.

The scene on stage was a family home. A teenage girl comes home upset after being threatened by a group of boys standing on the street corner. She is Hindu Tamil and they are Buddhist Sinhalese lads. Their threatening behavior has been building over the months now they have stopped her on the way to classes and tried to examine her shoulder bag saying she might be a suicide bomber. (a better account than mien cn be read here)

Of course the wider reality is that this type of scene is happening daily in Sri Lanka. With terrorism being exercised by all sides in a long and bitter civil conflict it is surprising that more inter-communal violence doesn't take place. But this drama is based on a true story and we the audience, after the first scene, and in the tradition of Brazilian dramatist, Augusto Boal's 'theater of the oppressed', are asked to think of what should happen next.

Mohan, the Tamil Father, is castigated by his daughter for seemingly not doing anything to protect her from this mob of young lads. Their family friend, Charith, a university pal of Mohan's and Sinhalese, has stepped in in earlier incidents, and remonstrated with the lads. "Hey man let's go deal witht he buggers, you and me?". Mohan described this as macho behaviour and it clearly makes him feel weak and undermined. His wife too scolds him for not being more proactive in protecting the family. She is clearly bitter that years ago he had not taken the opportunity of migrating with the whole family to escape this hostile environment.

We the audience are asked to try to resolve the problem; suggest the motivation and neurosis of the various characters and propose what might happen next. The Director, Ruwanthi de Chickera, skilfully develops a consensus from the audience and the actors huddle together and quickly discuss how to dramatize the next scene. The crowd of lads are brought on to say something about their interests in assaulting this young girl on her way to classes.

Shouldn't we know more about Mohan's reluctance to intervene, his hostile reaction to his wife, his fear of confrontation and his obvious painful early experiences in reporting incidence to the local police station? My suggestion of a stage soliloquy by Mohan, a neat device I thought to get him to spill the beans on his 'history', is quietly laid aside by the Director. This theatrical device is not the style of FORUM where the interaction between characters and the motivations 'we' give them is a vital part of the methodology.

The evening closes on stage, an eerily on-cue thunder storm outside, with Charith realising that his interventions are simply serving to further undermine Mohan's family. The problem is much larger than local bullying. Many youths are being drawn into a conflict ridden society in which under employment and lack of opportunity slips easily into scapegoat-ism. May be for Mohan's family and certainly for his daughter, the answer is to leave and study overseas. In reality only an option to the rich few in Sri Lanka or those lucky to have connections.

A challenging evening out. Not the kind of drama where you just sit back and watch a pre-determined plot unfold before you.

The Punchi Borella is a plucky little theatre.