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actors & theatre co’s
The athwela partnership is a consortium of not-for-profit agencies working in the Ibbagamuwa division of the Kurunegala district. The athwela partnership includes the Devasarana Development Centre, Nigel Billimoria Elephant Conservation Trust, the Grassroots Trust, and the Women’s Development Foundation.
The Athwela Partnership
Arunthavanathan Prashanth
arunthavanathan prashanth is a lecturer (probationary) in the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Jaffna. With an MPA in theatre arts from the Central University of Hyderabad, India, his expertise lies in directing and performance design, blending academic knowledge with creative artistry.
“Maraka Lindey Sawaariyak” by chalaka ranasooriya is the first stage play created based on a sinhala novel, and won several awards at the State Drama Festival 2016.
chalaka is the writer and director of several short plays such as “box”(winner of 7 awards at state drama festival 2010), “Dinosaur Premaya”, “Hello”, “Bermuda”, and “Joint” (Award winner State Drama Festival 2023). His play “Sanduda Wetenne Sikuradata” won 7 awards including best play at the State Drama Festival 2023. chalaka has also written screenplays for several television series and has also written the screenplays for upcoming films “Mayi Maara Prasangaya” and “Hello”.
Chalaka Ranasooriya
Clown Compass
clown compass is sri lanka’s first-ever clown company, bringing the art of clowning and physical theatre to life. they are passionate about sharing joy, laughter, and creativity with audiences of all ages—kids and adults alike. with a blend of national and international experiences and via workshops, performances, and interactive experiences, clown compass is here to sprinkle smiles and ignite imaginations across sri lanka.
wasantha gunawardena is a theatre and cinema enthusiast who as a director, producer and actor, is carrying forward the creative work of his father, the late dayananda gunawardena & his ‘nalu kirthi sabha’ theatre group which is famed for stage productions such as Nari Bena, Jasaya Saha Lenchina, Gajaman Puwatha, Bak Maha Akunu and others written and directed by the late founder.
wasantha & dayananda gunawardena & nalu kirthi sabha
Finetune – The School of Performing Arts
finetune – the school of performing arts is a creative space where children explore and develop their artistic potential through singing, acting, dance and movement, and visual arts. their approach fosters self-expression, confidence, collaboration, creative thinking, empathy, mindfulness, and a deeper connection with nature.
In addition, finetune conducts special workshops across sri lanka, making arts education accessible to children in diverse communities.
stefan tirimanne is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and performing arts practitioner with over 22 years of experience. He is the artistic director and co-founder of finetune school of performing arts.
stefan has worked as a visiting lecturer at the University of the Visual & Performing Arts, Sripali Campus (University of Colombo), and ITUM (University of Moratuwa). He has also contributed to performing arts education at Balapitiya Rewatha College and St. Joseph’s College, Colombo.
Recognized for his contributions to theatre, Stefan has been awarded Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Music Director. He has collaborated with distinguished Sri Lankan theatre practitioners, and also gained international recognition, having performed at prestigious theatre festivals representing Sri Lanka in India (2019, 2022), Nepal (2010), and Australia (2016, 2019).
stefan tirimanne
Janakaraliya : A Theatre with a difference
janakaraliya cultural foundation was formed on the 27th March 2002 – World Drama Day, born out of its desire to develop and promote Sri Lankans’ first-ever multi-cultural, bi-lingual theatre group that travels across the country in a mobile theatre.
Young people from all parts of the country were brought together and trained in all aspects of performing arts and social articulation to work in a multicultural environment. the the janakaraliya collapsible mobile theatre seats up to 600 adults / 800 children to enjoy drama productions and discuss the content of the plays and its relevance to their daily lives. janakaraliya also introduced the the ‘new arena’ format which allows the audience to view the play from all 4 sides of the tent while also making them feel part of the performance. This is the first such stage of this kind in the country.
kälam – a space for cultural encounters, is a continuation of the collaborative partnership between the Goethe-Institut Sri Lanka and Nicholas Kirutharshan. it opened its doors in February 2020 as a new home for experimental cultural actors and events of diverse nature. this initiative aims to build bridges between artists/writers and intellectuals/academics and those involved in all forms of creative activities from jaffna, germany and elsewhere. This space is supposed to function as an interactive site through exchanges, collaborations, and hopes to support art practitioners who explore imaginative paths beyond traditional horizons.
Kälam
Dr. Kanchuka Dharmasiri
dr. kanchuka dharmasiri is an academic, theatre practitioner and translator. She teaches in the department of english at the university of peradeniya and holds a Ph.D in comparative literature from the university of massachusetts amherst. Kanchuka has translated and directed plays such as eugène Ionesco’s the bald soprano and woody allen’s god. Her devised works include subha, a transcreation of rabindranath tagore’s short story of the same name and nodutu aes/ unseen eyes, a multi-media performance based on bertolt brecht and kumari kumaragamage’s poetry. Her original play, surpanakha juxtaposes the mythical past and contemporary times through the story of a time-travelling princess.
j m kirutharshan nicholas is an instructor in the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Jaffna. whose work spans across acting, lighting design, and art direction. His journey in the arts began with a BA in Drama and Theatre Arts from the University of Jaffna, a prestigious institution where he honed his skills in various aspects of theatre.
Kirutharshan Nicholas
Nishan Daniel
nishan daniel is a seasoned recording engineer, music producer, and live sound engineer with over 20 years of experience. He has collaborated with leading production houses in Sri Lanka, including Video Image, Hitfactory, and Sooriya Village, and is now an established freelance engineer and producer based in Colombo. nishan’s expertise extends to the realm of live sound, where he has contributed to a host of acclaimed theater productions such as Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Peter Pan, Next to Normal, My Fair Lady, Akuna – A Trilingual Musical, Julius Caesar, and most recently, Fiddler on the Roof.
He has worked closely with some of Sri Lanka’s foremost theater companies, including the Workshop Players, Theatre Junction, and Cold Theatre 7.
nishantha de silva is a producer, director, playwright, and the founder of the creative studio kehelmala as well as the amateur theater company AnandaDrama. His most recent bilingual play with the latter, Grease Yaka Returns, received 9 awards including Best Play, Best Direction, and Best Original Script at Sri Lanka’s State Drama Festival in 2019 and was later staged at India’s Bharat Rang Mahotsav.
GROWTHesque, a solo show he produced and was dramaturg for, debuted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and was performed in New York and in California in 2022. Nishantha is presently working on several film and television projects at Kehelmala. He holds a Fellowship in Directing from Trinity College London and Masters’ degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.
Nishantha de Silva & kehelmala
Subhashana Kurugala
A teacher of drama and theatre by profession, he holds a special honorary degree from the University of Kelaniya. subhashana kurugala, who has come a long way in the theatre industry as a writer, director, and actor, has now become a notable playwright, specializing in the field of children’s theatre.
Since 2011, he has continuously represented the State Children’s Drama Festival and has received awards for Best Script and Best Direction on numerous occasions.
His award-winning plays, “Paata Thunai Ekama Malai”, “Weta Addara Wedikawa” and “Ehela Malai Pittaniyai”, have been combined to create a drama show, called “Heena Thune Kathandare”.
sachithra rahubadda is the Founder and Director of the Red Apple International Theatre Gathering, which encompasses 43 countries, 20 national centers, and over 3,800 members worldwide. He serves as the Chairman of the Dream Factory Theatre Company and is also the Founder and General Secretary of the South Asian Theatre Association. After his time at Thurstan College, he pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor’s Degree (BA) in Drama and Theatre and a Master’s Degree (MA) in Drama and Theatre from the University of Kelaniya.
With over 15 years of experience as a Theatre Instructor in Children’s Drama, he has achieved notable accolades, winning all awards at the State Children’s Theatre Festival from 2015 to 2019 and has overseen the direction of more than 30 dramas from 2011 to the present. Since 2016, he has served as a representative of Sri Lanka in both national and international theater festivals, earning numerous accolades within the theater community.
Sachithra Rahubadda
Suresh Madushan Perera
suresh madushan perera is a scriptwriter, director, light designer, and drama teacher with a passion for creating innovative and impactful theatrical productions. His work has received multiple awards including 4 Youth Awards in 2023 – Best Script for Short and Full-Length Drama – & several State Drama Awards He received his BA in Drama & Theatre from the Open University & has a Higher Diploma from the Tower Drama School.
peter de almeida is a renowned actor & director of stage and film, perhaps most famous nationally for his recent portrayal in the hit series Koombiyo. Concurrently he is a successful CEO and MD of N-able, an IT company founded in 2008 and that today employs over 250 people and has a revenue of over $25 million.
From a young age Peter has been involved in national social movements and has been actively engaged in struggles for the defense of human and democratic rights and the protection of the environment.
In the last decade Peter has gained traction as a public speaker with a focus on storytelling, consciousness, and creativity. Currently, Peter is the Chairman of Kehelmala Productions. He is also an alumnus of INSEAD France.
Peter de Almeida
Thusitha Jayasundera
thusitha jayasundera is a Sri Lankan actress who lives in the United Kingdom. After graduating from the Royal Academy for Drama (RADA) Jayasundera was on the BBC hospital drama Holby City for three years. She then played DS Ramani De Costa in the ITV police drama The Bill from 2003 to 2006, and DS Ayesha Masood in the BBC series Silent Witness.
She’s appeared in the National Theatre adaptation War Horse and In 2009 in the play Dreams of Violence by Stella Feehily. In 2015, she played Ros Mahendra in the BBC drama Doctor Foster, and appeared in Midsomer Murders in the episode “Death of the Small Coppers”.
She most recently appeared in the Amazon Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – which is said to have garnered over 150 million views in its first season.
The Grassrooted Trust has used theatre and the arts since 2011 to tell stories about sexual violence in Sri Lanka. Our storytelling is always based on true and real happenings, and Grassrooted believes theatre and the arts will help us reimagine Sri Lanka. Grassrooted also works on both responding to sexual and gender-based violence, and advocating for substantive education reform, as Grassrooted believes that schools are an ideal ecosystem to engage with children, young people, their parents and educators. Grassrooted’s theatre interventions must begin and inform conversations around what and how our children and young people learn.
Grassrooted Trust
The Workshop Players
The Workshop Players, one of Sri Lanka’s foremost English theatre groups, is a non-profit organization known for its remarkable success in bringing Broadway classics & plays to local audiences. Their impressive repertoire includes productions such as Oliver!, The Sound of Music, A Streetcar Named Desire, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, A View from the Bridge, My Fair Lady, the Shakespeare in the Park series—which ran for three consecutive years—and, most recently, Fiddler on the Roof. Founded on March 7, 1992, the group is dedicated to nurturing talent and promoting peace through the performing arts. Guided by their philosophy of “theatre with a purpose,” they have united hundreds of children, adolescents, and adults from diverse theatre and personal backgrounds over the years. They have conducted workshops extending to communities across Colombo, Wadduwa, Alawwa, Batticaloa, Jaffna, and Trincomalee, sharing their passion and expertise in theatre.
priyantha dissanayake entered the makeup industry in 1998 and gained practical experience by working on numerous productions in theatre, film, and television over six years. Since then, he has worked as the lead makeup artist in stage drama, teledrama, film, and advertising for 26 years. His expertise extends to both local and international productions, continually updating his skills with modern makeup techniques and technologies to remain relevant for the present and future.
Over his career, Priyantha has contributed to more than 30 award-winning Lankan & international films. He has also worked on approximately 50 stage plays, 45 teledramas, and over 3,000 commercials. His exceptional work has earned him Best Makeup Artist awards across all these fields.
Priyantha Dissanayake
Ruwanthie de Chickera
ruwanthie de chickera is a playwright, screenwriter, theatre director and cultural activist. De Chickera has a strong belief in the practice, politics and philosophy of ‘devising’ – a theatre approach of collective creativity and leadership that challenges existing structures of authorship, power-sharing and change.
Her film “Machan” won the ‘Label Europa Cinemas’, Venice Days 2008 Prize at the Venice Film Festival and has been screened in over 50 countries. De Chickera is artistic director of Stages Theatre Group, an ensemble theatre company that produces socially and politically conscious original Sri Lankan Theatre.
She is an Eisenhower Fellow, a consultant to the Institute of Statelessness & Inclusion, and a member of the National Arts Council of Sri Lanka. She is currently producing two new film scripts and a TV series.
The collaboration behind Surangana Kathawak is between Interact for Change theatre workshop and Unnamed Theater Group, a collective of theater practitioners from across Sri Lanka. Their collaboration came to being via the ‘Grace Project’, implemented through World Vison Lanka and funded by the European Union.
The script was developed by Nilanka Dahanayaka, an experienced playwright, actor, and director, alongside Shanaka Fernando, a talented young actor who conducted a series of workshops for children in the Kalpitiya Education Zone over six consecutive months. Nilanka, a professional theater artist, has showcased his remarkable performances in a range of mediums, from street theater to the silver screen, over the past decade.
Interact for Change & Unnamed Theatre Group