The big name in Sinhala theatre

Two names stand out when one discusses the early days of Sinhala theatre. One is C. Don Bastian and the other is John de Silva. Both were lawyers by profession.

Of the two, the one who exercised the greatest influence on the modern stage and modern music was John de Silva, who was born on January 13, 1857 at Kotte. After being educated in English, he became a teacher but later studied law and passed out as a proctor of the Supreme Court. Taking a liking towards the theatre he began writing dramas. His first drama, 'Parabhava Natakaya' was a satire on the westernised upper class. His aim was to create a sense of nationalism among the people. He began to draw his inspiration from Sinhalese history and legend.

The drama form prevalent at the time was the 'nurti' as opposed to the 'nadagama' , the traditional form of drama. The 'nurti' was divided into acts and scenes following the pattern of European plays and saw the disappearance of the 'pote guru' or narrator in the 'nadagama'. Though John de Silva was inspired by the 'nadagam' tradition, he preferred to move away from those tunes while attempting to make the 'nurti' music more systematic. He was more keen on applying the Sanskrit theory of 'rasa' or dramatic sentiment to his plays and adapt North Indian music for this purpose.

John de Silva wrote and produced several historical and religious plays - 'Siri Sangabo' (1903), 'Sri Vickrama Rajasinghe' (1906), 'Devanampiya Tissa' (1914), 'Vihara Maha Devi' (1916) and 'Dutugemunu'. He also wrote 'Ramayana.' 'Sakuntala,' 'Vessanatara,' Uttara Ramacharitaya' 'Ratnavali' and 'Nagananda.' Most of these plays were staged at the Public Hall, where later the Empire cinema was erected. (It is no more since it was demolished to build apartments). The plays were presented by the Sinhala Arya Subodha Natya Sabha. Later he formed the Vijaya Ranga Sabha and staged his plays at the Gintupitiya Theatre, which was also turned into a cinema later on.

His impact on Sinhala theatre was acknowledged by all and as a token of remembrance the government built the John de Silva Memorial Theatre at Ananda Cumaraswamy Mawatha in Colombo 7. He died on January 28, 1922.

Recognition also came his way in the form of a commemorative stamp released on January 31, 1987.

The father of Marxism in Sri Lanka

Don Philip Gunawardena, born on January 11, 1901 at Boralugoda, is generally regarded as the father of Marxism in Sri Lanka. He was the prime mover in forming the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) in 1935 along with several young Sri Lankans he met in London where he spent a few years after he finished his studies in three American universities. Along with other LSSP leaders, he was detained during World War II when he escaped to India but was again arrested and jailed till the war ended.

Conflicts within the LSSP made him leave the party in 1950 to form the Viplavakari Sama Samaja Party (VLSSP) which became a partner in the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) formed by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to fight the 1956 general election. He served as Minister of Food & Agriculture (1956-58) and was responsible for several revolutionary measures including the Paddy Lands Act ensuring better terms and greater security for tenant farmers. He left his mark as a minister with a capacity for hard work. He was edged out of the coalition in 1959 after which he continued to use the name MEP for his party. (Today the party is led by his son Dinesh Gunawardena).

After a brief stay with the United Left Front formed with the LSSP and the Communist Party in 1963, he moved towards the UNP serving as Minister of Industries in the 1965 UNP government under Dudley Senanayake.

Philip Gunawardena had his early education at Prince of Wales College, Trinity College and Ananda College. He had his higher education in the University College and later at the Universities of Illinois, Wisconsin and Columbia.

He first entered the legislature in 1936 as a member of Avissawella in the State Council. Although he was elected to the Avissawella seat in the first Parliament he was disqualified from holding a seat when he was sentenced to three months imprisonment over an issue connected with a bus strike. His wife Kusuma was elected at the bye-election that followed.

He died on March 25, 1972.