Rajitha marks 25 years at the Wendt with festival of three plays
View(s):A festival of three plays, written and directed by renowned dramatist Rajitha Dissanayake, will be staged on January 24, 25 and 26 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre Colombo at 7pm.
Sihina Horu Aran
The theatre festival, organised by the ‘Freedom Theatre Group’, marks 25 years of Rajitha’s plays being performed at the Wendt. In 1995 ‘Sakwadawala’ was the first of his plays to be performed at the Wendt.
Since then he has written and directed eleven plays, all of which have been performed at the Wendt.
The three festival plays, ‘Sihina Horu Aran’, ‘Hithala Gaththu Theeranayak’ and ‘Nathuwa Bari Minihek’ have drawn crowds and critical acclaim in performances in Colombo, around the country and even overseas.
The festival starts on 24 January with ‘Sihina Horu Aran’ (Dreams Robbed), which will premiere with an all-new cast after a hiatus of four years. The play highlights the dangerous nexus between business and politics in the day-to-day lives of people. It was staged at the Bharath Ranga Mahaothsav in Delhi in 2006, and the same year it toured five European countries (France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy). In 2005 it won State Drama awards for Best Original Play, Best Script and Best Actress.
On January 25 is Rajitha’s latest production ‘Hithala Gaththu Theeranayak’ (A Well-Made Decision), which premiered in November 2019. It is a well-crafted drama that explores the complexities and emotions of human relationships and the consequences of decisions made by people in the name of love.
Rajitha Dissanayake
The festival ends on January 26 with the return of ‘Nathuwa Bari Minihek’ (A Man Much Needed). This play depicts the ultimate fate of a group of individuals who embark on a quest for lost power and love.
The play won seven State Drama awards in 2017, including Best Play, Best Director, Best Script and Best Actor. As always a group of experienced and talented actors will make up the cast. They include Dharmapriya Dias, Shyam Fernando, Samaadhi Laksiri, Bimsara Premaratne, Nadeeshani Peliarachchi, Ishara Wickramasinghe, Anuradha Mallawarachchi, Pasan Ranaweera, Nalin Lusena, Charindra Chandrasena.
Music for the plays was composed by Kapila Poogalarachchi and lighting is by Ranga Samarakoon.
Tickets priced at Rs. 2000, 1500, 1000, 800 and 600 (Balcony) are now available at the Wendt and online ticket booking is available at www.lionelwendt.org.
A limited number of special festival tickets to watch all three plays will be available at the Wendt till January 24.
This includes tickets worth three Rs. 1000 tickets for Rs. 2000 and three Rs. 600 tickets for Rs. 1200.
Nathuwa Bari Minihek
Hithala Gaththu Theeranayak