Vajira – the Creator of Children’s Ballets
Histories of the tri-traditional dances of Sri Lanka – Kandyan, Low Country and Sabaragamuwa – generally highlight a handful of pioneering women, point out their significance as the first female dancers on…
Arts and Theatre
Richard
Animals continue to crack in Sri Lanka, Richard. Lions don’t exist in the natural state, nor tigers roam through the brush. Elephants, yes, are still around, mostly straggly survivors in an orphanage…
“Eyes Only” Delves Into the Psyche of Sri Lankan Society
Artist Gayan Prageeth is exhibiting his latest collection, Eyes Only, at the Saskia Fernando Gallery. His work reflects a deep concern for the state of society and politics, delving into the psyche…
Corona with the Big Brothers
It is increasingly evident that the lasting impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic will not be merely health related. In the early stages of government efforts to contain the virus and over the…
Fighting the Fires of Climate Change Through Art
Today is the Global Day of Climate Action Themes of sustainability and environmental degradation have pervaded my work since 2004, long before climate change or the extinction rebellion became global political issues….
Thenuwara’s At/Most/Fear: A Virtual Testament in Times of a Pandemic
For the past 22 years, activist and renowned contemporary artist Chandraguptha Thenuwara has been memorialising the horrific period of July 1983 through paintings, drawings, sculpture and installation. This year, undeterred by the…
State Power and Street Theatre in Sri Lanka
In the 1970s and 1980s, Sri Lanka witnessed a marked conflict between the State’s enactment of power in relation to the control of public space, and street theatre’s appropriation of it. The…
‘Culturally Inappropriate’ Love Stories and Identities
Arun Welandawe-Prematilleke was awarded the Gratiaen Prize 2018 for his play ‘The One Who Loves You So’ (TOWLYS). The drama explores the relationship between Vidhura, a ‘Colombo trust fund baby’, and Nick,…
Paraconsistent Thought: Notes from a field diary
The beautiful Fenya of Greek decent asks me with a humble smile if I know the Sinhala word that gives meaning to ‘shame’. Having received ‘yes’ for an answer she sits on…
Gramasevakata Pissu: Political censorship and popular culture
– J.M. Coetzee , seated at the foot of my father’s easy-chair, not understanding (as a nine, ten, eleven-year-old) the incisive commentary the show was making. Soon enough as a teen, I…
The Days We Screamed
Yes, we screamed. Mostly out of fear. At times, in joy when the opposing side faced more loss than us. Lives were taken for granted, numbers of the fallen mattered much more…
Uncasing Horror Sleeping Between Pages: A Review of the Pillowman
On July 7 and 8, Irish playwright Martin McDonagh’s award winning play ‘The Pillowman’ was presented at the Punchi Theatre in Borella by Stage Light & Magic Inc. Yours truly was at…
Unfolding a Fabric of Spectacular Enchantment: A review of ‘Pyramus and Thisby’
‘Enchantment galore’ upon the senses of theatregoers seemed the motive and motif for the twelfth year anniversary show of ‘Pyramus and Thisby’ written and directed by seasoned theatre practitioner Jehan Aloysius, which…
The Multiculturalism of Sinhala Song: a Review of Sons and Fathers
Multiculturalism in Sri Lanka is often understood as the co-existence of distinct ethnic communities, whose individual histories have unfolded independently during different eras, in different parts of the country.[1] Conventional historical narratives…
Thatti
I worked with Building Bridges on a four-month series of art and creative skills workshops at St. John’s College, Mattakkuliya. It is a co-educational school whose students come from diverse backgrounds in…
