Veteran director and producer Jith Pieris together with the Creative Arts Foundation will bring ‘The Return of Ralahamy’ a crowd favourite back on stage. The political satire was written by H. C. De Lanerolle more than 50 years ago. Jith promised Life Online that not a single word has been changed from the original script. The script is as it is and everything is so relevant even today! 

It was written during post independence Ceylon and may be a portrayal of D. S. Sennanayake. Plays like ‘Well Mudaliyar’, ‘Fifity Fifty’ and The Ralahamy series are popular political satire works of H. C. De Lanerolle. They all tackle the culture and political setting of the time. 

‘The Return of Ralahamy’ is the story of Dionysius Sumanesekera who returns to Sri Lanka with his wife after immigrating to Australia. When he returns his pro Marxist nephew tries to win an election with the popularity of his uncle. 

Jith hopes that this play will remind everyone how we lived in harmony at the time and was able to laugh and have a good time without taking offense. He said at the time there was “no racism at all. We are striving to show how we lived in a civilized manner.” 
It’s a “political comedy of yester year” says Jith. The play will be set in that period with war time music as well. We are sure that both young and old will enjoy the humour found in the play. The cast and Jith continued to be impressed by how relevant the script is even today. 

The show will be staged on the 2nd and 3rd of July. Tickets are priced at Rs.2000, Rs. 1500, Rs.1000, Rs.800 (reserved) and Rs.550 (balcony). The box plan and tickets are now available at the Lionel Wendt. 

By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe 
Photographs by Nisal Baduge