A comprehensive literature on ‘Street Theatre’
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Prasannajith Abeysuriya
The book titled ‘Street Theatre in Sri Lanka’ written by veteran theatre artiste and a senior lecturer at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, M. Prasannajith Abeysuriya will be launched at 5 pm on October 26 at the Panibharatha Theatre, Faculty of Dance and Drama, University of the Visual and Performing Arts, 21 Albert Crescent, Colombo 7.
This book contains Abeysuriya’s years of first hand experiences in the street theatre performed in Sri Lanka and abroad. He was a member of the pioneering street theatre group founded by
Dr. Gamini Haththotuwegama and has been able to develop his own street theatre group named ‘Pahura’ (Vessel). Over the past three decades he has been a teacher for a number of street theatre groups providing opportunities for hundreds of emerging artists to become experts in other mediums like theatre, television and even cinema.
In this book Abeysuriya describes in detail how the street theatre in Sri Lanka was emerged and its developments, styles of performances, music and choreographic works, and other auxiliary artistic practices related to the art.
The book also provides theoretical and analytical approaches to understand the alternative theatre practices related to street theatre.This work is a valuable contribution to the current scholarship of theatre and especiallyalternative theatre practices. Therefore this book is an important reading for the school and university students as well those who are interested in exploring the theatre as an educational tool.
At the book launch, Professor Sena Nanayakkara from the Rajarata University, theatre artiste, Dr.Jayalath Manorathne, and veteran theatre director Parakrama Niriella will deliver talks.
While the launch is open for public, it will be enriched with street theatre songs and segments of performances.