Priyangani – is a simple teenager who loves art, nature and humanity. Her mother, Hilda who began life as a very simple person is caught up in the competition of life and consumer values.

Priyangai’s father – is a trade unionist who philosophises on the futility of the rat race.

Sampath – Priayangani’s friend is the son of a Sitharist and oriental dance teacher – Sushila. Priangani enjoys her association with him because they have allied interests and both share similar views in life.

Priyangani has many other friends whom she loves very much and who in return love her dearly. Priyangani would like to qualify as a performing dancer while studying for a reasonable degree in Science. The mother who at first appreciated her artistic tendencies and encouraged her in its furtherance now looks askance at her daughter’s plans for the future. Her own values have changed with the influence of the consumerist society. She is flung into a society symbolised by Trixie, her colleague. She decides that Priyangani give up her dancing and her interests in fine arts and cut herself away from her beloved friends and devotes her time to pursue a course of studies which would equip her to enter the medical college and qualify as a doctor. The mother is not in agreement with Priyangani’s father who feels quite satisfied that the girl collects a degree in Bio Science. To Hilda it is degrading. For her Priyangani’s becoming a doctor would be a dream come true. It would be a promising solution to her consumerist economic problems; a practical solution to her employment problem; a well intended plan no doubt for daughter.

Priyangani is then rushed through in Science, elocution, spoken English, cake making and dress making. Finally Priyangani has to decide on a marriage agreement with an engineer who is on a short visit from England. This is the last straw. Priyangani, vexed at the idea of sacrificing her own aspiration for the sake of her mother’s ambition, pleads for a short respite before she decides on marriage. The mother when she pays a scant regard to Priyangani’s plea really means no harm – rather well.

Finally Priyangani’s tenacity gives way – it snaps and she joins the rest of the ‘distorted’ (Vikurthi).

In the play, two other characters of ‘DISTORTED’ youth are discussed in flash back by Priyangani and Sampath.

1.Saranapala wins a Grade 5 Scholarship from Dorawaka Maha Vidyalaya in Kegalle District. Born to very poor, and uneducated parents he is brought to Royal College in Colombo through the well intentional guidance of his teachers. The stipend being insufficient for his expenses her has to lodge with a poor uncle in a shanty atmosphere where he has no facilities nor the peace nor quiet necessary to study for his Advanced Level Examination later. He therefore is unsuccessful at the University Entrance Examination while his colleagues in Dorawaka enter the University. This becomes a cause of bitterness and he is tormented by the thought of the time, energy and money spent both by him and his parents and the sacrifice made by his parents and his beautiful sister. It was difficult to get employment – guarantors were needed who would swear by him? Experience? What did he have?

2.Jagath – the son of the newly rich businessman. A brilliant brain- studying at Advanced Level, rejects idea of going to school because he is bored with school. He finds no answer to his problems in the school. It does not give him scope to explore. He has to be in a rut “the syllabus has to be completed”. His parents on the other hand have no time for him. The father is immersed in his business and the other is attending to social occasions. Jagath therefore a loner withdraws and is in his room to experiment on electronic experiments. His parents want him to go to school, become an engineer and take over the factory built by the father. When the son refuses on the plea of ineptitude for such, the parents are surprised. Jagath says that he has no special aptitude to earn wealth and is critical of his father’s attitude to what he wants of life. Father overhears him and gets into frenzy.