The Plays - kolamba kamatha festival

Andare’s Kamatha/ අන්දරේගේ කමත/ அந்தரேயின் கமத by Clown Compass

Andare’s Kamatha/ අන්දරේගේ කමත/அந்தரேயின் கமத by Clown Compass

Thu 27th Mar || Opening Night – By Invitation || Trilingual

This immersive walk-through performance through all of the Kamatha’s performance spaces centres on legendary character ‘Andare’, the celebrated jester and storyteller from Sri Lankan folklore. The narrative explores Andare’s whimsical journey as a modern-day entertainer, alongwith a vibrant supporting cast, as brought to life by Sri Lanka’s first-ever specialist clown company.

වසිලිස්සා Vassilisa by Fine Tune The School of Performing Arts

වසිලිස්සා (Vassilisa) is the first theatre production created by the students of FineTune School of Performing Arts. Inspired by the world-famous Russian fairy tale Vassilisa the Beautiful, this play tells the story of a young girl whose courage, wisdom, and kindness guide her through a magical and dangerous journey. Can Vasilisa find the fire she seeks amidst the darkness and sorcery? Will she escape the clutches of the fearsome Baba Yaga?

“Kata Kata Kutu Gudu Gudu Ton! Jangili Jungili Goda Goda Glab!”

Get ready—magic is about to begin!

වසිලිස්සා/ Vassilisa by Fine Tune The School of Performing Arts

The Workshop Players Present A Musical Theatre Songbook

The Workshop Players Present A Musical Theatre Songbook

The Workshop Players are well known for their exceptional ability to bring the enchantment of Broadway and the West End to Sri Lanka over the past 30 years. Their upcoming performance promises a vibrant array of items from various renowned productions, featuring a delightful blend of music, dance, and singing. Under the guidance of their artistic director Jerome L de. Silva, the WSP aims to foster peace through theatre while inspiring young performers everywhere! They aim to captivate and inspire, so do join them for an unforgettable celebration of artistry and entertainment.

නැතුව බැරි මිනිහෙක් / Nathuwa Bari Minihek (A Man Much Needed) by Rajitha Dissanayake

A businessman, Jayantha, an extreme Sinhala nationalist and supporter of the war worries for his future in the transformed political climate with the newly elected regime in 2015. While he was initially worried about possible legal consequences of his past dealings, he is quick to realise that he could soon make fresh connections with the new regime.

Jayantha’s son, a student in London returns home on vacation, bringing his Tamil friend, Ramesh who is looking for his mother who went missing during the war. Jayantha’s daughter, Erandi, steps in to support Ramesh’s search for his mother. Getting desperate at the lack of progress in his search, Ramesh decides to launch a hunger strike (Upavasa) as a mark of protest. Further, Erandi has her own personal struggle: on one hand she is trying to win her Buddhist father’s consent to carry on her relationship with Chanaka, a Christian. On the other hand, Erandi is also trying to get closer to her estranged mother.

නැතුව බැරි මිනිහෙක් / Nathuwa Bari Minihek (A Man Much Needed) by Rajitha Dissanayake

The Grassrooted Trust Presents: What’s Going On? Reflections on Othering in Sri Lanka

The Grassrooted Trust Presents: What’s Going On? Reflections on Othering in Sri Lanka

The Grassrooted Trust returns with a series of monologues that holds up a mirror to Sri Lanka’s struggle with the violence we direct at each other because we’re different. Performances will explore ethnicity, sexuality, caste, and class, building on the experiences of Grassrooted and partners as they respond to the wilful ignorance and fear-mongering that fuels stigma, discrimination and the willingness to hurt and harm another human being. As always, Grassrooted will challenge us, provoke us, and of course, make us laugh at how ridiculous we can be.

The Athwela Partnership Presents ‘Un Daanawa Api Kanawa’ By the Children of the Athwela Nirmana Kavaya /අත්වැල නිර්මාණ කවයේ ළමුන් විසින් ඉදිරිපත් කරන උන් දානවා – අපි කනවා /அத்வெலா நிர்மனா காவ்யா குழந்தைகள் வழங்கும் ‘அவர்கள் கொடுக்கிறோம் – நாங்கள் சாப்பிடுகிறோம்’

The performance details how animals in Sri Lanka react to human-generated waste and pollution. This performance is primarily in Sinhalese, but also in Tamil, includes a fusion of physical theatre and puppetry to bring alive a story that provokes us to reflect on how much waste we generate, and consider options that will help in mitigating the ongoing climate crisis.

The Athwela Partnership Presents ‘Un Daanawa Api Kanawa’ By the Children of the Athwela Nirmana Kavaya /අත්වැල නිර්මාණ කවයේ ළමුන් විසින් ඉදිරිපත් කරන උන් දානවා – අපි කනවා /அத்வெலா நிர்மனா காவ்யா குழந்தைகள் வழங்கும் ‘அவர்கள் கொடுக்கிறோம் – நாங்கள் சாப்பிடுகிறோம்’

எனக்கும் பசிக்கிறது / I Am Hungry Too by Kälam Collective

எனக்கும் பசிக்கிறது / I Am Hungry Too by Kälam Collective

The performance’s lead character is a theater director whose belief is that society can only be transformed through constant provocation. He wants to highlight the devastating effects that the armed conflict in Jaffna had on ordinary civilians. This is followed by the monologues of a young woman whose father disappeared back in 1997 and whose mother has been searching and protesting ever since.

Her words interspersed with those of a Mullivaikkal veteran, who actively experienced the last stages of the war. Then there is the former landowner from Palali, who recounts his continuous displacement from one IDP (Internally Displaced People’s) camp to another as his home got declared part of one of many High Security Zones.

And acknowledging the importance of the global Tamil diaspora, one monologue features the position of a character living in Germany and dreaming of returning to his native Vaddemarachchi East. Finally, an elder reminds of the early stages of the conflict when the Jaffna Library was set on fire and the Muslim population expelled from the peninsula overnight.

Through listening to each other’s experiences free of blame, judgement and malice the five characters begin understanding each other better as the performance unfolds.

Directed by J M Kirutharshan Nicholas & Arunthavanathan Prashanth

De Profundis by Mind Adventures

De Profundis consists of a series of readings from local and international authors, as well as original music and sound design pieces based on the theme ‘from the depths’.

Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s description of human suffering in his famous letter titled De Profundis, this production moves through moods of despair, death, and rejuvenation. Featured writers include Ajith C. Herath, Shehan Karunatilaka, Jean Arasanayagam, Mary Oliver, Rainer Maria Rilke, William Shakespeare, Mahmoud Darwish and more.

The readers include established English theatre practitioners Sean Amarasekera, Steve de la Zilwa and Tracy Holsinger, and Thusitha Jayasundera. Music and sound will be created by Simon Allen, a British composer and disability advocate, and also Brian Allen – a multimedia, musicology, and trombone artist currently visiting Sri Lanka as a music researcher.

De Profundis by Mind Adventures

සුරංගනා කතාවක් / Surangana Kathawak (A Fairytale) by Interact for Change & Unnamed Theatre Group

සුරංගනා කතාවක් / Surangana Kathawak (A Fairytale) by Interact for Change & Unnamed Theatre Group

Surangana Kathawak (A Fairytale) is a play that portrays the story of dreams, struggles, and shattered hopes in the lives of young adolescents from the Kalpitiya Peninsula in the Northwestern Province. The play begins with a group of children rehearsing a drama based on the story of “Jack and the Beanstalk”. As they rehearse, their personal struggles begin to disrupt the performance, to the point where they are tempted to give up. The blame is cast on Mihin, a boy from a fishing community, which leads to a confrontation. This conflict sets the stage for the unfolding of the story, revealing the harsh realities of life in the area and the broken aspirations of vulnerable young adolescents. At its core, Surangana Kathawak is a struggle between two generations, a tug-of-war between the harshness of reality and the dreams of these children.

බක්මහ අකුණු / Bakmaha Akunu by Dayananda Gunawardena

‘Bak Maha Akunu’ is an adaptation of Pierre Beaumarchais’s stage comedy ‘The Marriage of Figaro’. The original is a satirical comedy on a lecherous aristocrat. Dayananda Gunawardena turns the aristocrat into a “kastane-carrying Mudaliyar”, the head of a feudal household. The Mudaliyar has designs on the virtue of Pabulina, the young and pretty maidservant of the Walauwe. The Mudaliyar makes advances unashamedly. Jason, Pabulina’s fiance and fellow-servant, threatens to unmask the Mudaliyar when Pabulina confesses to him that the Mudaliyar is running after her. Living with them is Premadasa, a young boy-servant who is in love with love. He has a crush on the lady of the House, Lamathani. The web of intrigue and counter-intrigue becomes thicker as the play goes on. Lamathani and Paulina set their feminine skill to devising a plan which will foil the Mudaliyar.

බක්මහ අකුණු / Bakmaha Akunu by Dayananda Gunawardena

සක්වල රිය / Sakwala Riya by Suresh Madushan Perera

සක්වල රිය / Sakwala Riya by Suresh Madushan Perera

The play follows the conversations and interactions amongst passengers as they travel, board and unboard from a bus traveling along Sri Lanka’s winding pathways. Their journey provides snapshot insights into the ongoing lives of passengers as well as their feelings about the country they live in, particularly their government.

උත්පලවර්ණා / Uthpalawarna & ලක් බයි ට්‍රාන්ස් /Luck By Trance by Sachithra Rahubadda

Luck by Trance: A mother takes her daughter to swimming practice. While her daughter is changing in the female dressing room, she meets a transgender man. The incident between the two is portrayed in the play.

Uthpalawarna: A young woman enters a room with her boyfriend to celebrate their anniversary. Upon entering, she asks him if he would be willing to give her money in exchange for engaging in sexual activity. The young man objects, explaining that he can’t do that. This conversation leads to a broader discussion about the topic as the drama unfolds.

උත්පලවර්ණා / Uthpalawarna & ලක් බයි ට්‍රාන්ස් / Luck By Trance by Sachithra Rahubadda

හීන තුනේ කතන්දරේ / Heena Thuney Kathandare (The story of 3 dreams) by Pubudu Subhashana

හීන තුනේ කතන්දරේ/ Heena Thuney Kathandare by Pubudu Subhashana Kurugala

Pubudu Subhashana Kurugala’s award-winning plays, “Paata Thunai Ekama Malai /පාට තුනයි එකම මලයි“, “Weta Addara Wedikawa/ වැට අද්දර වේදිකාව ” and “Ehela Malai Pittaniyai/ඇහැල මලයි පිට්ටනියයි“, have been combined to create a drama show, called “Heena Thune Kathandare/The story of 3 dreams”.

තට්ට ගායිකාව /Thatta Gaayikaawa by Dr. Kanchuka Dharmasiri

Thatta Gaayikaawa is a Sinhala adaptation of Romanian-born French playwright Eugène Ionesco’s absurd anti-play La Cantatrice Chauve (The Bald Soprano).

In Thatta Gaayikaawa, we meet Mr & Mrs Perera, a middle-class couple who live in Kandy, and their seemingly-uninvited guests Mr & Mrs Silva. Their encounter with yet another unexpected visitor—the fire department chief—opens up a Pandora’s box of uncomfortable questions and truths that they have been avoiding for most of their lives. Who are these people? Are they actually who they think they are? What secrets lie beneath their polite conversations?

The fire chief is keen on extinguishing all fires in the city: a total “cleaning” mission! As the play progresses, the living room conversation drifts unexpectedly towards more sinister episodes in the surrounding socio-political landscape. Thatta Gaayikaawa poses complex questions about human relations by displacing and dislocating some of the often taken-for-granted conventions and social norms. This displacement is often juxtaposed against key existential questions. It explores issues related to language and communication. In short, what is the function of language? Can we communicate with language?

Translated into Sinhala by Kanchuka Dharmasiri and Lohan Gunaweera, Thatta Gaayikaawa won the state literary award for best theatre translation in 2017.

තට්ට ගායිකාව / Thatta Gaayikaawa by Dr. Kanchuka Dharmasiri

Screening: GROWTHesque

(Screening: GROWTHesque

GROWTHesque depicts a teenager’s coming of age during Sri Lanka’s economic crisis. Inspired by real events, this solo play packs political commentary, wholesome comedy, soulful songs, fusion songs and memorable character sketches into a 45-minute rollercoaster ride through its protagonist’s lived experience. Written and performed by Leeth Singhage, and with dramaturgy by its producer Nishantha de Silva, and presented by Kehlemala and SarongHoodie, GROWTHesque debuted as The One TEEN Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2022 before being presented a few months later at the world’s largest solo play festival, United Solo in New York City, where Leeth received a standing ovation and won the award for best emerging actor.
Kehelmala’s film of GROWTHesque was shot mainly at the Lionel Wendt Theatre in October 2022.

வெளிச்சமே – செல்வராஜ் லீலாவதி மூலம்/ Velichame … (Oh Light) by Selvaraj Leelawathy

In today’s world, humanity is struggling amidst conflict and chaos. War and violence have shattered the simplicity of life, making happiness a distant dream. This play explores the profound longing for a peaceful and simple existence, highlighting how, in the face of turmoil, even the most basic joys become difficult to attain.

Inspired by the ongoing Gaza war, Velichame … (Oh Light) serves as a reminder that we are all human, bound by the need for compassion and unity. It urges us to embrace humanity and reject war in all its forms.

வெளிச்சமே – செல்வராஜ் லீலாவதி மூலம்/ Velichame … (Oh Light) by Selvaraj Leelawathy

සඳුදා වැටෙන්නෙ සිකුරාදාට / Sanduda Watenne Sikuraadata by Chalaka Ranasooriya

සඳුදා වැටෙන්නෙ සිකුරාදාට / Sanduda Watenne Sikuraadata by Chalaka Ranasooriya

Sanduda Wetenne Sikuraadata (The Monday that falls on Friday), tells the story of the inhabitants of two houses divided by a single wall. It follows the issues of these households – especially their economic struggles, even as they reach beyond their means to compete with each other. From this Ray-Cooney style farce emerges, though atypically it is also peppered by quotidian tragedies.

The plays scooped the best script, direction, actor and actress in the State Drama Festival in 2022.

Patterns of Our Genocides & The Children of the Little Olive Park by Stages Theatre Group

Patterns of Our Genocides is a poignant and devastating love letter written by a young Rohingyan refugee to a friend trapped in Gaza. It reveals horrifyingly similar, recurring cadences of deep, systematic violence inflicted on both Palestinians and Rohingyans over the past 70 years.

The Children of the Little Olive Park turns the Palestinian/Israeli conflict into a simple modern-day parable detailing how it began and why it remains unresolved.

One little park. Two sets of children. No one in the world. Can solve this problem.

Patterns of Our Genocides & The Children of the Little Olive Park by Stages Theatre Group

கோட்டம் / Kottam by Janakaraliya

கோட்டம் / Kottam by Janakaraliya

Kottam is an adaptation of Russian dramatist Evgeny Schwartz’s play The Dragon. While the original work was written in natural conversational language, the Tamil adaptation Kottam follows traditional Tamil folk dance, singing and music forms. In the post-war era of 2010, Janakaraliya mobile theatre was installed in the grounds of St Xaviers school in Nalllur and a drama festival was held for 10 days. People of Jaffna, who, even a year later, were still in the habit of sequestering at home after 4pm due to long-term curfew rules during the war, flocked to the Janakaraliya mobile theatre and watched plays in the night. When the last few days of the drama festival approached, it became so popular that an extra show at 10pm had to be held. As a result of the ensuing theatre-related training and theatre development work that followed between Janakaraliya and the community, two new theatre groups – Shemmugam and Aarohana – were born in Jaffna. Kottam was created in 2022, with the aim of developing the skills of the artists from Shemmugam and Aarohana theatre groups.

අතරමැදියා / Atharamediy by Nilanka Nisalangel (Showwave Productions)

අතරමැදියා / Atharamediya is a groundbreaking play that explores the future of love and relationships in a world driven by artificial intelligence.Featuring a stellar cast led by Kusal Maduranga, Silindu Ranwala, and Kasun Ukwatta, the production captivated audiences and critics alike, winning 10 awards at the State Drama Festival 2020 and 5 awards at the National Youth Drama Festival 2019, including Best Production and Best Director.

The play is written and directed by Nilanka Nisalanjal, an award-winning storyteller known for his creative excellence in theatre and digital media including the popular YouTube series “Kolonbiya”. Produced by Showwave Productions, a company dedicated to elevating Sri Lanka’s art and theatre scene.