Reinventing MACBETH…Ravibandu Vidyapathi
Ravibandu brings Shakespeare’s renowned work of art to Sri Lankan oriental ballet:
Stars, hide your fires, 
Let not light see my black and deep desires.
The eye winks at the hand; yet let that be
Which the eye fears,
when it is done, to see.
(Act I scene 4)
There is no doubt that one of William Shakespeare’s best known plays of all time is his shortest tragedy, ‘Macbeth’. The play was written between 1603 and 1606 and is based on the theme of lust for power and the betrayal of friends.
This masterpiece of theatrical production has been adapted for opera, film, stage and screen throughout the years and had entertained many a crowd through the years.
After four centuries the well-known percussionist, Ravibandu Vidyapathi, had reinvented the brutal but thrilling work of art to fit the contemporary sensibilities to take form of an oriental ballet.
The ballet is said to possess a 90 per cent Oriental Sri Lankan style and is highly symbolic like the Japanese Noh plays or Kathakali dance drama of India. Yet it will take a modern approach, influenced by Sri Lankan traditional dance forms.
Being the son of Somabandu Vidyapathi who was renowned for his stage decor, costumes and paintings, Ravibandu had grown in an artistic environment. He learnt dance under Chitrasena and soon took up to making strides of his own with his imaginative creations.
His ability to churn out new projects without deviating from the traditional form helped him carve a niche in the world of dance.
Ravibandu started his own ballets with Thunvenna in 1994 and followed it up with several others.
He had composed five full-length ballets up to date and a large number of dance miniatures and a few short ballets on a variety of themes. Most of them were based on Western and Eastern Classics.
According to the celebrated dancer the idea of forming bringing the timeless tale in the form of an oriental ballet had been burning in his mind since 1986, almost 22 years ago. He had to put the project aside since he had to concentrate on other productions but his innovative and creative mind never let go of its grasp.
“The characters in the play are highly dramatic and the theme is quite suitable for the dance medium. It speaks about the hidden thoughts of people and how far they would go to fulfill their greed for power,” he pointed out.
‘Macbeth’ the oriental ballet is altered to suit the dance medium. Ravibandu will be playing the role of Macbeth while his wife, Samanthi, will portray Lady Macbeth. Dancers of Ravibandu – Samanthi Dance ensemble: Ranjith Priyanga, Ajith Amarasiri, Saranga Abhayasinghe and others will also contribute to the play with the roles of Duncan, Banquo and the three witches.
Interestingly, a dagger dancer will personify the imaginary dagger that Macbeth sees in Act II scene one.
The play will end on a slightly different note with nature bringing death upon the protagonist. According to Ravibandu these changes had to be made because some parts of the original is too detailed for dance.
“The purpose of ballet is to create aesthetic feelings in the audience by means of music and body movements. We use body language to relate the actions and story,” he explained adding that Kandyan dance is his forte and that it possesses the most suitable dance movements to portray certain movements and actions.
Pradeep Ratnayake, Sri Lanka’s gifted sitarist handles the music but sitar music will not be included in the ballet.
“Music is important to bring out highly dramatic situations. Classical instruments like the flute, the French horn, clarinet, string instruments and local drums will provide the music.
The costumes and make up will be highly stylised and a few characters will be wearing grotesque masks. ‘Macbeth’, the oriental ballet will be staged at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on July 19 and 20 at 7 p.m. Sri Lanka Telecom and Rupavahini will sponsor the event.
‘Akna’ an exhibition of Ravibandu’s dance photography by Indika Fernando will be held at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery from July 18 to 20.
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
