Being an ardent follower of Indu Dharmasena's work I was excited to attend his latest production, “The Dowry Hunter”. The play, ran at the Lionel Wendt Theatre from 12th to 14th of June to packed audiences and proved to be another exemplary showcase of his work. Directed by Indu Dharmasena and produced by Jith Pieris, their collaboration brought to life one of the “vintage” comedies popular within the Colombo circuit.

“The Dowry Hunter”, was written by S.J.K Crowther seventy years ago, when the farcical antics of the members of the State Council, who after acquiring their political seat purely on  altruistic motives used their financially challenged plight as a reason to become “rich man's friends”, whose generous donations coated their pockets handsomely. The rich man in this case is a young Mr. Upali Katunayake whose successful win of the Irish Sweepstakes for the princely sum of Rs. 500,000, a monumental sum in the 1930's, immediately made him a much sought after individual by all walks of society from shady politicians to colourful wedding brokers to interfering relatives.

As the curtains drew open the audience was immediately transported into the glory of olden day Ceylon, the stage and set being artistically decorated and giving us all a slice of nostalgia of the simple days gone by. The play being well written also had an ensemble of note worthy actors. Enters our protagonist of the evening, Mr. Upali Katunayake, aptly played by Kanishka Herat. Mr Herat in fact has a special bond to the play, with his great grandfather being E.C.B Wijesinghe and the script being in the family for many years, was honoured to bring it once again to the Lionel Wendt stage. Our character is aided by his close secretary, a Stephen de Silva, hilariously played by Avishka de Alwis whose innocent tricks and turns, gets Mr. Katunayake in more trouble than he anticipated.

We also meet the slimy Don Alexander Amarapradasada, the Member of the State council, played by Yasal Ruhunage. Mrs Juanitha Pieries, Aunt to Katunayake, played by Sanwada Dharmasena flutters on to the stage as the interfering older relative eyeing Upali's new found inheritance. The role of the over zealous, marriage broker, is played by Indu himself, a role he has played many times before.

The cast is completed by Hemara Pieris, the beautiful daughter of the interfering aunt, played by Ruvendi Wakwella, who Upali eventually loves in fall with. The audience was subjected to rounds of increasing hilarity at the antics of Upali's private secretary and Basnayake, the marriage broker assuming female roles, as “Baby” and “Mummy darling” respectively, this twist in the play left the audience in fits of laughter with their impressive comedic timing.

Director, Indu Dharmasena, had put together an amazing show with smooth scene changes, a clear focus, and a cohesiveness that is both impressive and unmatched. No actor pulls focus when they should not, and the audience was kept entertained till the very end. Bravo!

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Audience Comments 

Dayanitha and Sanoja

"It's a good play, we are enjoying it."

Harshani

"I am very impressed with the colonial styled set. The characters are well matched to their roles, overall the play is really good."

Bimantha and Apeksha

"Well the play based in olden day Ceylon, brings back fond memories of the past. The play so far is very good and am looking forward to what's more to come, I think we are in for a treat."

Chitharanga

"I am a great Indu Dharmasena fan, and I love the play. I have in fact acted with Indu in the same play many years ago. I played the role of the mother. I am an ardent follower of Indu's work, and this play in particular is fantastic."

Chanrudh

"I haven't gone to Sri Lankan theatre in a longtime, but I am very impressed with what is on show tonight. Good work."

Marle

"It was a fabulous play, very funny and superb acting."

For more photographs from the play, view the album on the Life Online page on Facebook.

Text and audience photographs by Mayuri Jayasinghe
Stage photographs by Kushan Pathiraja