The Children of the Sea
Apr 24th, 2006 by marialobo
Sunday night, we had a chance to watch the play “The Children of the Sea” which is sponsored by Plan Sri Lanka. It is written by Toby Gough, winner of Fringe award. The cast of the show are “ordinary people whose lives have been ripped apart” by the December 26 2004 tsunami. Many are children who either lost a father, a mother or a loved one to the devastation.
It is amazing how the director-playwright have woven the story of the Pericles, a Shakespeare tale, in a unique Sri Lankan setting. Combined with graceful dances and colorful costumes, this play has presented a delightful yet inspiring message of survival, love and hope to young and old in many tsunami stricken camps. There was even a part were a real big elephant with the king of Kandy straddled on its back. This was the biggest treat for my kids as they love elephants so much! Tsk! Tsk! Steph slept through that part though… oh well, she has lots of chances to see more pachyderms anyhow.
You won’t believe this BUT it was performed in three languages. Yes, indeed, all three! In Sinhala, Tamil and English. It was impressive. We appreciate it that they included English since there was a considerable number of foreigners who watched It wasn’t a problem at all for anyone who are still struggling with their Sinhala or Tamil - that includes me. For Vera and Zeph, the Children of the Sea is simply great! A written narration from each would make it even more perfect.. or maybe a blog?
The play also appeared at the Edinburg International Festival.