2009 වර්ෂයේදී ආරම්භ කල ශ්‍රී ලාංකීය වේදිකාව නම් මෙම වෙබ් අඩවිය, ලාංකීය කලා කෙත පෝෂණය කිරීමට ගත් කුඩා වෑයමකි. විශේෂයෙන්ම අන්තර්ජාලය තුල වේදිකා නාට්‍ය ගැන පලවූ ලිපි එකම වෙබ් අඩවියකට යොමුකොට, වේදිකා නාට්‍ය හදාරන සහ ඒ පිලිබදව උනන්දුවක් දක්වන සැමට පිටුවහලක් වන ලෙසට එය පවත්වාගෙන යනු ලැබීය.

2012 වර්ෂයේ සැප්තම්බර් මාසයේ www.srilankantheatre.net
නමින් අලුත් වෙබ් අඩවියක් ලෙස ස්ථාපනය කල මෙම වෙබ් අඩවිය, ලාංකීය කලා කෙත නව ආකාරයකින් හෙට දවසෙත් පෝෂණයේ කිරීමට සැදී පැහැදී සිටී. මෙම නව වෙබ් අඩවිය තුලින් වේදිකා නාට්‍ය පමණක් නොව, චිත්‍රපට, සංගීතය, ඡායරෑපකරණය, සාහිත්‍ය සහ තවත් නොයෙක් ලාංකීය කලා මාධ්‍යන් ගැන විශ්ලේෂනාත්මක ලිපි ඉදිරිපත්කිරීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වෙමු. ඒ සදහා ඔබගේ නොමසුරු සහයෝගය සහ දායකත්වය අප බලාපොරොත්තු වෙමු.

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Sihina Rangahala ‘Short Drama’ festival at Elphinstone

Author: Jayashika Padmasiri
Source: The Nation
Date: 24/08/2008

The stage drama series, “Sihina Rangahala” (Theater of Dreams) written and directed by Dananjaya Karunaratne will be staged on August 30, at Elephinstone, at 3.30 p.m. and 6.45 p.m. The actors who are participating in the “Sihina Ranagala” drama series are, Chandani Seniviratne and Susith Nishantha who have taken part in “Valentine Enakan”, Saumya Liyanage in “Last bus eke kathawa”, Palitha Silva and Madini Malwatha in “Chandrawathie Samage Rathriyak”, Chamal Ranasinghe and Dimithu Chinthaka in “Duwana un Dennek”, Kaushalya Fernando, Chamila Peiris and Sanath Wimalasiri in “Oba Sapekshai”. All the above dramas have won the awards at the State and Youth drama festivals.

Music director will be Kapila Poogala arachchi, lighting designer Wasantha Kumara, make-up artist Bhanu Prasanna, while Kosala Thottawathge will be assisting in direction. Stage supervision is by Sameera Nuwan and Sumeda Niroshan, stage arrangements and costumes will be by Dananjaya Karunaratne. Jude Shirimal will be the chief organiser of “Sihina Rangahala”.

“Sihina Ragahala” is sponsored by the Sunethra Bandaranaike Foundation.
The latest addition to the series “Duwana Un Dennek,” is also scheduled to be staged with the series.. “Duwana Un Dennek” is a tragic-comedy influence by physical theater.

Over the past few years Dhananjaya has been experimenting in a more proactive and sensitive style of theatre. This series is a successful result of above experiment. The drama series is being reproduced with the original cast since there is a growing demand for Dhananjayas plays. New interpretation has been added to the plays. One of the plays, “Last Bus Eke Kathawa” has been translated into English and been shown in many countries.
Some of the plays have been already published as a book named “Last Bus Eke Kathawa”.
For more information please log on to www.dhananjaya.net

Dhananjaya Karunarathne is an experimental playwright, director who has written and directed number of plays. He has gained a bachelor degree in painting and sculpture at the Institute of Aesthetic Studies, University of Kelaniya and a masters degree in theatre arts at the University of Wollongong, Australia. In the last few years Dhananjaya has been involved with the Merrigong Theatre Company in Australia. He has been developing his own theatre concept named Theatre against the Audience. Currently Dhananjaya is working as a visiting lecturer in theatre arts at the University of Visual and the Performing Arts.

Four Stories From Colombo

Indika  Ferdinando, left, with Anusuya, centre and Saumya, extreme rightSource:Civil Society News - Delhi News
Date: 04/2010



SRI LANKA

Four  stories from Colombo

Civil Society News
New Delhi

The play staged by Sri Lanka's Theatre Plus troupe, Colombo, Colombo: the story of your coffin was a blend of tragedy, comedy and foot-tapping music. There were eight actors, six men and two women, who played guitar, sang, danced and acted.

It couldn't have been easy to multi-task on stage like this but the actors went through their performance with ease, music, dance and acting perfectly synchronised.

The play was avante garde, experimental. Instead of a linear story, there were four separate episodes which happen in four different locations in Colombo.

“The play is linked by a theme, the characters and the similarity of situations,” explains Indika Ferdinando, director, sitting in the darkened auditorium, looking a little anxious as his troupe readies for the evening's performance.

The choice of a disjointed script was deliberate, says Ferdinando, a lecturer at the College of Visual and Performing Arts in Colombo. “I wanted to move away from Aristotle's theory, a kind of formula which has been superimposed on the history of theatre. It says one single story with start, development, climax and denouement is required for theatre. That's a reflection of patriarchal thinking,” he says dismissively.

The storyline works for the play is passionate, energetic and visually appealing. The music and lyrics too were catchy.

“I try to explore magic in theatre,” says Ferdinando. “Anything is possible on stage. I don't like dialogue plays. People come to theatre to see their lives as engaging, magical. The play is reflective of women's aspirations. But it is for the audience to interpret. I'm not preaching.”

In the first episode, Ajantha waits for his girlfriend, Vyanga, at a lover's park. But they can't find a bench to sit on. Characters like an old man with a romantic book and another with a wreath drift through. There is a struggle to get the bench and the episode ends with Vyanga noting a newspaper clipping announcing her death and Ajantha's.

In the second episode, it is Vyanga and Kumara's first anniversary. As they go to see a movie, Vyanga spots a bomb in the subway. She tells Kumara he could earn a reward by alerting the police and realise his dream of being a success. But Kumara leaves, dejected. She tries to alert people but nobody takes her seriously.

In the third episode, it is Vyanga and Rohan's first anniversary and they are catching the last bus home. In the last episode two old men wait for the arrival of the corpse of a young woman – Vyanga herself.

Vyanga, the shadow of death and the old man are a constant in all episodes. Anusuya Subasinghe, who plays Vyanga, handles four different characters in the four episodes with ease. It hasn't been easy though, says young Anusuya who learnt acting in New Zealand, to play different characters in a single play. “The rehearsals helped. I had to learn guitar too.”

Saumya Liyanage, the lead actor, who plays the old man and also narrates the story, is a well known star in Sri Lanka with a considerable fan following. He has powerful stage presence, a certain body language, and you can see he is an experienced actor.

Ferdinando gives centre stage to his actors. He believes it is the actor, his or her voice, physique, presence, which make or mar a performance. In this play Ferdinando picked young actors and paired them with a seasoned actor like Saumya Liyanage.

Colombo, Colombo, Ferdinando's first play, premiered in July 2009. It caused a stir for the style was new, the play captivatingly young with some attributes of box office cinema.

A storm is Brewing!

Source: The Sunday Leader
Date: 09/08/2010


A scene from the play

Await Stormy Weather! This novel murder thriller, presented by Centre Stage Productions, is set to take Colombo by storm from September 10 to 13 at the Punchi Theatre. The play is written and directed by the renowned dramatist Jehan Aloysius, and features both live action as well as filmed scenes.

This unique production is to be presented as a black and white movie, set in the late 1940s world of film noir. The plot revolves around the shocking murder of Noel Richards and the subsequent investigation by a rather unorthodox and nameless inspector.

The overall mood, production design and acting style of the production is inspired by the film noir or �dark cinema� thrillers of the 1940s and 1950s, as the original play was written to a non-linier cinematic narrative style. Thus, Stormy Weather is bound to be a bold and unique theatre experience for those who enjoy cutting-edge theatre.

The experienced cast includes English theatre personalities such as Shanuki de Alwis, Dilrukshi Fonseka, Michelle Herft, Mario de Soyza, Amesh de Silva and Zahabiya Adamaly. The costumes are stitched by Hilma Salahudeen, while Video Image is the official film partner handling cinematography. Channel 1 MTV and YES FM are the electronic media partners.

So prepare yourself for Stormy Weather from September 10 to 13 at the Namel Malini Punchi Theatre. The box office opens at the theatre from August 7. Seating will be limited to just 200 seats per night, so call 2672121 and purchase your tickets in advance to avoid disappointment.

Colombo Colombo

Source : The Sunday Leader
Date:02/08/2009


At the Lionel Wendt Theatre on August 8 and 9

Cast of Colombo Colombo


Indika Ferdinando�s latest Sinhala language theatre production, Colombo Colombo is to go on boards at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on August 8 and 9. Having won State Awards as well as Youth Awards for over four theatre productions, including the award for Best Upcoming Director at the State Drama Festival 2000, for Janadhipathi Thaththa, Ferdinando is a versatile director, actor, and script writer, with many accolades to his credit.

Colombo Colombo is a work for the theatre which addresses modern day issues faced by Colombo dwellers. Its protagonists are four couples caught up in their own personal experiences at four different locations. A tragi-comedy by nature, it brings in a novel aspect of theatre performance, with the physical form of the guitar being used both as a musical instrument and also as a character in the play.

The four incidents involve four pairs of lovers and conclude with a dilemma that no longer allows them to accept each other�s presence in their life. At the root of these events, we discover socio-political and ethical influences that determine the unhappy predicament of these couples.

Although these incidents take place in four different locations in Colombo, they represent the issues prevalent in every corner of this island.

Colombo Colombo� attempts to look critically at some of the influences that transform human relationships and lead them into conflict; the social and political system that constantly infiltrates those human relationships; and the collective indifference with which the public nurtures the system that severely influences their lives.

Colombo Colombo is a tragi-comic musical play and an experimental theatre endeavour that consists of a compilation of independent scenes and does not conform to a linear story line. However, the scenes are cohesively linked by the appearances of several significant characters that are common to all the events.

Another important aspect of this play is the use of the guitar and the human body as musical instruments, while the actors collectively play the roles of musician, singer and dancer. At times, Colombo Colombo takes a stab at transcending reason and reality. It is fast-paced, theatrical, and bursting with energy. It attempts to tap into the imagination and create a fresh theatre experience for the Sri Lankan audience.

The drama also brings together versatile set designer Pradeep Chandrasiri who has won the State Drama Award for Set Design for several consecutive years, as well as Thushan Dias as Lighting Designer, backed by many years of experience and a range of productions to his credit in both the Sinhala and English stage. His lighting design includes Workshop Players� productions of Les Miserables and Lion King, Jehan Aloysius� Ritual and Pyramus & Thisby and Steve de la Zilva�s Equus.

The drama is presented by Theatre Plus, which was formed as an experimental platform for theatre practitioners and looks into various aspects of theatre production and related research. Its membership consists of experienced theatre practitioners and academics, and works with a sound practical orientation.

Colombo Colombo cast and crew credits

Saumya Liyanage, Anasuya Subasinghe, Jagath Chamila, Atula Jayasinghe, Sarath Karunaratne, Upul Weerasinghe, Thilanka Gamage, Nadika Somathilake,

Stage Set and Costume Design: Pradeep Chandrasiri

Music: Theja Buddhika Rodrigo (Misha)

Choreography: Manubandu Vidyapathy

Make-up: Jagath Padmasiri

Lighting Design: Thushan Dias

Stage Management: Kosala Thotawatte

Stage Management Assistance: Himali Thakshala, Disna Dilantha

Lyrics: Piyal Kariyawasam

Media Coordination: Gaya Nagahawatta

Script and Direction: Indika Ferdinando

Colombo Colombo: A magical take on different slices of life

Author: Tahnee Hopman
Pix : Sanka Vidanagama
Source: Sunday Times
Date: 02/08/2009

Indika Ferdinando is a firm believer in and advocate of what he calls the magic of the theatre.
Steadfast in his views, he has little or no patience for what he calls the “lazy dialogue style” of drama that he has witnessed time and again. “I have no interest in going to the theatre, to see before me a picture or video of myself – or for that matter, anything that I am already familiar with. I want to see something different; or something that I am familiar with, shown in a different perspective, or given a new meaning,” he says firmly.

Scenes from the play.

This, it would seem is Indika’s challenge as a director – and definitely an important aspect of his upcoming production, Colombo Colombo, which is set to take the audience by storm on August 8 and 9 at the Lionel Wendt at 7 p.m.

Performed by eight experienced actors of Theatre Plus, a new theatre group, Colombo Colombo is its debut performance and promises to be a mix of experimentalism, realism, fantasy, music and yes, a little bit of magic.

The magic of course, is not of the supernatural kind; rather it lies in the art of finding new ways of representing reality. Says Indika, “I feel that the theatre industry at large has lost sight of some of the magic of drama and I want to try and bring that back.

To me, art is not realistic. Art should find a way to overcome all that is realistic, or to portray the realistic in a slightly different light so the audience is able to derive a new experience and learn something new when they see it. And that’s where the magic begins.”

Described as anti Aristotelian in nature – where the drama does not revolve around a single plotline but many, Colombo Colombo, is based on four separate incidents which turn out to be interrelated and reflect certain happenings around Colombo. Saumya Liyanage a well known actor in the local drama scene and narrator of Colombo Colombo reveals that the four scenes are constructed by use of diary entries.

Elaborating on this concept, Indika explains that the inspiration for Colombo Colombo came from the 2004 movie Crash, Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa and a few other works of fiction. “It took around two months of writing,” he says, “but even on completion, the script remains a work in progress as we make constant improvisations to it during the course of rehearsals.”

Indika Ferdinando

Apart from the relative challenge of an unconventional script, the actors are also faced with the challenge of not only having to act, but to sing, dance and play music as well. “I have had a great deal of experience in the theatre,” smiles Saumya, “but I can safely say that acting in Colombo Colombo is definitely one of the most interesting and yet challenging theatrical experiences I have had. Nevertheless, it is exciting and I speak for the entire cast when I say that working together has been a thoroughly memorable experience. We feel as a society, we are stagnated and isolated. In theatre, we feel that we are an important part of a community. For us, drama is all about the complexity of human relationships.”

Striving, as a dedicated group of actors, to show the audience the different identity of theatre as opposed to movies or teledramas, Theatre Plus seems to rely on the magic of theatre to build up this identity. They bring to life four or five different slices of life and work to show the audience how to apply different perspectives to their own lives. For them, that is just how theatre works.

Tickets for Colombo Colombo, priced at Rs. 500, 300, 200 and 100 are available at the Lionel Wendt.

Kaleidoscopic ‘Colombo Colombo’ On stage

Author: Sachitra MAHENDRA

Source: Daily News

Date: 05/08/2009


They are caught up in their own encounters at different locations. The four couples have a dilemma: they can hardly grasp the identity of each other. Indika Ferdinando is to ferret out the solace among them in his latest stage play ‘Colombo Colombo’.


‘Colombo Colombo’ rehearsal. Pictures by Ruwan de Silva

Ferdinando has received many awards for his plays including Janadipathi Thaththa. He was the best upcoming director at the State Drama Festival 2000. He is a versatile artiste, above all, being a director, actor and scriptwriter. He found his feet strong on the stage during his university years.

“Cast is the most important element for me. They have a magic within them. For this matter, no one can challenge the cast, so I keep on doing theatre productions until I discover their magic in a full scope.” Ferdinando says.

‘Colombo Colombo’ is an attempt to exhume the life in crowded Colombo. It provides a periscopic view into what is happening in various places of Colombo such as tunnels. Characters move on with their varied experiences. The satire in the plot, Ferdinando handles with much ease.

The music in the play are almost surrealistic, but they are not so in actual sense. Dances are tuned to the effect of the song-rhythm. The play, which runs for half an hour, does not have a traditional separate music orchestration. It is being rehearsed at the premises of University of Visual Arts and Performance these days with the participation of both undergraduates and outsiders.

Lovers are engaged in their personal talks, while a balloon man passes by. In the following scene, they all dance together. All characters are similar and diverse in their own forms. All scenes are like a tapestry, says Saumya Liyanage, who performs the male lead.


Anasuya Subasinghe


Indika Ferdinando

“I always loved the theatre. It is so amazing. My role in Colombo Colombo is diverse. I mainly act like an old man but I act like a young lover too.”

Anasuya Subasinghe, more seen on the English stage, performs the female lead. She finds her role as Vyanga very challenging. Vyanga is both old and young.

“It shifts rapidly, so it’s sort of challenging to give life to various roles in one go.” She says.

Commenting on the Sinhala theatre, Anushiya says it’s more professional in the Lankan context, whereas the English theatre is confined to Colombo.

“But I think it has a solid audience within Colombo premises.” A tragicomedy by nature, it brings in a novel aspect of theatre performance, with the physical form of the guitar being used both as a musical instrument and also as a character in the play.

The play is the offshoot of a research project carried by Indika Ferdinando and Saumya Liyanage. The research paper was recently submitted to the symposium held at the University of Kelaniya.

“The theatre has been dominated by the Aristotelian linear mode. It restricts the theatre’s scope and affects the natural development of this art medium. Theatre should go beyond the limitations. You have a wide scope in the theatre.”

Saumya Liyanage

Indika’s plays do not respect the accepted norm. They rather come up with fragments. Life itself is fragmented, so the theatre should be the same. Yet they are all thematically similar.

The drama also brings together versatile set designer Pradeep Chandrasiri who has won the State Drama Award for Set Design for several consecutive years, as well as Thushan Dias as Lighting Designer, backed by many years of experience and a range of productions to his credit in both the Sinhala and English stage.

The drama is presented by Theatre Plus, which was formed as an experimental platform for theatre practitioners and looks into various aspects of theatre production and related research.

Its membership consists of experienced theatre practitioners and academics and works with a sound practical orientation.

Although these incidents take place in four different locations in Colombo, they represent the issues prevalent in every corner of this island. ‘Colombo Colombo’ attempts to look critically at some of the influences that transform human relationships and lead them into conflict; the social and political system that constantly infiltrates those human relationships; and the collective indifference with which the public nurtures the system severely influences their lives.

‘Colombo Colombo’ is a tragi-comic musical play and an experimental theatre endeavour that consists of a compilation of independent scenes and does not conform to a linear story line. However, the scenes are cohesively linked by the appearances of several significant characters that are common to all the events.

Another important aspect of this play is the use of the guitar and the human body as musical instruments, while the actors collectively play the roles of musician, singer and dancer.

At times, ‘Colombo Colombo’ takes a jab at transcending reason and reality. It is fast-paced, theatrical, and bursting with energy. It attempts to create a fresh theatre experience for the Sri Lankan audience.

-------------

Colombo Colombo theatre production

Cast:
Saumya Liyanage
Anasuya Subasinghe
Jagath Chamila
Atula Jayasinghe
Sarath Karunaratne
Upul Weerasinghe
Thilanka Gamage
Nadika Somathilake

Stage set and costume design: Pradeep Chandrasiri

Music: Theja Buddhika Rodrigo (Misha)

Choreography: Manubandu Vidyapathy

Make-up: Jagath Padmasiri

Lighting Design: Thushan Dias

Stage Management: Kosala Thotawatte

Stage Management Assistance:

Himali Thakshala amd Disna Dilantha

Lyrics: Piyal Kariyawasam

Media Coordination: Gaya Nagahawatta

Script and Direction: Indika Ferdinando

A Theatre Plus production.

Colombo Colombo will be staged at 7 pm on August 8 and 9 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre.

Author: Amila Galappatthi
Source: Amila Galappatthi's Blog
Date: 12/08/2009


colombo-colombo