“Its cool in the furnace,” a musical directed by Jerome L. De Silva, will also be the first ever junior Drama to go on boards at the British school Auditorium this weekend. Excitement has been a buzz at the school since rehearsals began in August last year.

“The children have been rehearsing for this drama since August last year,” said Rukshana Wikramanayake, a member of the Chraft organization which is helping putting together the play. “They are very excited and cannot wait to perform to their first audience this weekend.”

The cast of 18 consist of children from the age of eight to 16 years of age. “The essence of the play is to promote gospel music through drama, and Jerome whose been working with the children has been able to change the original script to give it a new age appeal, yet keep it exciting for the children to be part of and entertaining for the audience to watch.”

The Musical will consist of songs from Baryl Red lyrics along with renditions from Grace Hawthorns. “It’s a biblical story of three friends, which is actually there in the old testament, the three friends were captured by the King of Babylon and were made his advisors. The children go through the stages of how the friends were taken away and then eventually separated. One day however the King becomes irate and decides to throw all of them in the furnace, but they come out of it alive. This changes the King’s mind and he declares to the whole of Babylon that God exists,” she said. “Although the musical is set in the past, Jerome has brought in a lot of futuristic elements from jazz to Scottish jig to make it relevant and for the children to be able to perform it.”

The dialog is witty, funny and will certainly entertain the entire family this weekend. Jerome promises a lot of styles of dance from ballet moves to jazz. The children have been able to learn their lines while performing their steps and singing their parts. It would certainly make for an interesting drama to watch.

The musical will be held at the British School Auditorium on February 25 to 27, from 7:30 pm onwards this weekend. Tickets will be available at the venue itself.

Chraft

CHRAFT (Christian Arts foundation) was set up as Sri Lanka’s first ever Christian Theatre Group in September 2009. CHRAFT has been established to vivify the Gospel message through music and drama, giving children, youth and adults the opportunity to develop their talents in drama and music. It will harness the knowledge, talent and commitment of respected people from all denominations of the Christian community.

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