EKA ADHIPATHI
The Dictator

Written & Directed by

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake

New Production 2009

Very few Sinhala stage plays have stood the test of time
among which 'Eka Adhipathi' (The Dictator)
of Dharmasiri Bandaranayaka stands out as an
exceptional experience by two generations of
theatregoers spanning from 1970s to the present day.

In 1976, it won seven awards including
Best Actor whose role was played by him
and Best Original Production at the State Drama Festival.
From its inaugural staging till 1993,

the play continuously mesmerized the Sinhala audience
 with 1400 shows being successfully
performed all over the island.

"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely"
is the motto Dharmasiri Bandaranayaka
tries to convey through this political satire.
The very fact that this piece of art
has managed to keep the immense attraction
of the Sinhala audience for such a long time implies
the inability of the Sri Lankan society
to come to grips with the brutal nature
of power even after three decades of democratic exercise,
thereby keeping the validity of the satirical issue intact.
The dichotomy between the ruler and the ruled
in its most crude form has not changed,
and it still perpetuates itself to puzzle the society at large,
hence the relevance of Eka Adhipathi (The Dictator) even today.

Dharmasiri Bandaranayaka is an artist who strives
to engage his audience with burning issues
 of socio-political importance in order to make that audience
not only into an entertaining collective
but also into an active mass of conscious agents of social change.

In short, art for him is a joy only to the extent

of its being a catalyst for responsible social intervention.

His later productions,

'Makarakshaya'
(The Dragon by Soviet writer Yevgeny Shvarts-1985),

'Dhawala Bheeshana'
(The Men Without Shadows by Jean Paul Satre-1988 ),

'Yakshagamanaya'
(The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht-1994 )

and 'Trojan Kanthavo'
(The Trojan Women by Euripides-2000 )

attest to this conviction.

Eka Adhipathi

The Dictator

1976 - 2010

In this lacklustre period of Sinhala drama, the new production of

'Eka Adhipathi' (The Dictator-2009 ) touring again in major towns
would definitely be an aesthetic solace strong enough
to lure the people back to the theatre,
coupled with a powerful voice no longer to be ignored.

Next performances in Colombo

21st January 2010 at 3.00, 7.00 p.m,

Elphinston Theatre, Colombo 10

06th February 2010 at 7.00 p.m.

Lionel Wendt, Colombo 07