An indelible trail of 33 years
Winner of 8 awards at the 1976 State Drama Festival including Best Original Play of the Year and Best Actor awards, ‘Eka Adhipathi’, written and directed by Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, celebrates 33 years of fame and acclamation on the 3rd and 4th of December at the Lionel Wendt Theatre.
Having amassed a mammoth 1400+ performances from 1976 to 1993, ‘Eka Adhipathi’ is a well received and critically acclaimed production which oozes with political satire. The drama is based on the people’s rebellion against discrimination and dereliction by a corrupt fascist regime.
The original music score for the drama was designed by Premasiri Khemadasa and at present is directed by Deshaka Sampath.
The stellar cast which features prominent thespians includes Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, Rajiv Ponweera, Swethekei Munasinghe, Dayadeva Edirisinghe, Lal Peiris, Leonard Cooray, Upul Nishantha, Sampath Tennakoon, Chamila Peiris, Gamini Wijesinghe, Chulla Jayawardhana, Lalith Rajapakse, Wathsala Ranasinghe, Jagath Muthukumarana, Saman Pushpa Liyanage, Himasal Liyanage, Sudesh Wickramarathne, Sarath P. Alawwa, Thushari Chamila Gunarathne, Oshadhi Gunasekera, Rohan De Silva, Asiri Priyanga, Arunodh Wijesinghe, Niluka Dilrukshi Rajamanthri, Manoj Peiris, Tennis Miller and Amil Deepal Galanga.
Ranga Bandaranayake contributes in the capacity of assistant director while Vasantha Vittachchi handles character makeup. Stage management is carried out by Indika Wickramarachchi and Susanga Kahandawalarachchi assisted by Oshadhi Gunasekera, Rohan De Silva, Asiri Priyanga, Arunodh Wijesinghe and Amil Deepal Galanga. Set design is by Leonard Cooray while stage lighting will be tackled by Lakshman Perera. Production planning is handled by Deeptha Bandara, Shasthri Mallawarachchi and Ramesh Kuganeshan.
‘Eka Adhipathi’ is produced by the Trikone Cultural Foundation with a three-pronged intention of developing theatre performing arts, attracting new audiences and encouraging academic arts research projects in Sri Lanka. Following the production of ‘Eka Adhipathi’, ‘Makarakshaya’ (1985), ‘Dhavala Bheeshana’ (1988), ‘Yakshagamanaya’ (1994) and ‘Trojan Kanthavo’ (1999) will find the stage in 2010 under the meticulous direction of Dharmasiri Bandaranayake. All aforementioned plays were awarded prestigious state accolades which include Best Play of the Year and Best Direction at State Drama Festivals of yesteryear.
The Sinhala translation of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ is also in the pipeline to be directed by Dharmasiri Bandaranayake and staged in 2010. Gamini Viyangoda’s Sinhala translation of the play is available in print under the title ‘Maya Bandana’.
Having amassed a mammoth 1400+ performances from 1976 to 1993, ‘Eka Adhipathi’ is a well received and critically acclaimed production which oozes with political satire. The drama is based on the people’s rebellion against discrimination and dereliction by a corrupt fascist regime.
The original music score for the drama was designed by Premasiri Khemadasa and at present is directed by Deshaka Sampath.
The stellar cast which features prominent thespians includes Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, Rajiv Ponweera, Swethekei Munasinghe, Dayadeva Edirisinghe, Lal Peiris, Leonard Cooray, Upul Nishantha, Sampath Tennakoon, Chamila Peiris, Gamini Wijesinghe, Chulla Jayawardhana, Lalith Rajapakse, Wathsala Ranasinghe, Jagath Muthukumarana, Saman Pushpa Liyanage, Himasal Liyanage, Sudesh Wickramarathne, Sarath P. Alawwa, Thushari Chamila Gunarathne, Oshadhi Gunasekera, Rohan De Silva, Asiri Priyanga, Arunodh Wijesinghe, Niluka Dilrukshi Rajamanthri, Manoj Peiris, Tennis Miller and Amil Deepal Galanga.
Ranga Bandaranayake contributes in the capacity of assistant director while Vasantha Vittachchi handles character makeup. Stage management is carried out by Indika Wickramarachchi and Susanga Kahandawalarachchi assisted by Oshadhi Gunasekera, Rohan De Silva, Asiri Priyanga, Arunodh Wijesinghe and Amil Deepal Galanga. Set design is by Leonard Cooray while stage lighting will be tackled by Lakshman Perera. Production planning is handled by Deeptha Bandara, Shasthri Mallawarachchi and Ramesh Kuganeshan.
‘Eka Adhipathi’ is produced by the Trikone Cultural Foundation with a three-pronged intention of developing theatre performing arts, attracting new audiences and encouraging academic arts research projects in Sri Lanka. Following the production of ‘Eka Adhipathi’, ‘Makarakshaya’ (1985), ‘Dhavala Bheeshana’ (1988), ‘Yakshagamanaya’ (1994) and ‘Trojan Kanthavo’ (1999) will find the stage in 2010 under the meticulous direction of Dharmasiri Bandaranayake. All aforementioned plays were awarded prestigious state accolades which include Best Play of the Year and Best Direction at State Drama Festivals of yesteryear.
The Sinhala translation of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ is also in the pipeline to be directed by Dharmasiri Bandaranayake and staged in 2010. Gamini Viyangoda’s Sinhala translation of the play is available in print under the title ‘Maya Bandana’.
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