Cultural DIARY

Fête de la musique

Fête de la Musique is organized this year jointly by the Ministry of Culture and the Arts, BMICH/BCIS, the Alliance française de Kotte and the Embassy of France. It will celebrate its 30th anniversary on June 22 at 4.00pm at the BMICH/BCIS.

The Sri Lankan audience will have the great opportunity to enjoy the French rock group MERZHIN. Renowned for their wild live shows, the six musicians of Merzhin will be on tour in several Asian countries and will present their lastest album to the public of Colombo. Their music offers intricate rock melodies full of energy and emotions to move the public.

The performers

After ten years of being on tour, more than 500 concerts and 200.000 albums sold, Merzhin continues on its path to international fame and their new opus marks a real turning point in the group's career.

The spirit of "La Fête"

The Fête de la Musique was born out of the idea to dedicate an event to both music lovers and professionals who live to share their passion for music with the public.

This event, launched for the first time by the French Cultural Ministry in 1982, has now become an international event celebrated in many countries all over the world.

The afternoon will be dedicated to various Sri Lankan musicians presenting their work to the audience. The French school will inaugurate the event at 4.00pm, followed by the students of Alliance Française de Kotte and the Dance and Music group from the Art Department of the University of Kelaniya.

Then, seven artists will perform in several groups. Seven artists, hundreds of possibilities! It's also the spirit of the Fête de la Musique to offer new possibilities, new experimentations ...It is with great pleasure that we will listen to Hania - Natasha - Pabalu - Uvindu - Wade - Kumar - Christopher in an original project, totally unreleased.

The Ravibandu Vidyapathi Drum Ensemble will display their talent in an original performance with pianist Sundarie David.

The well-known Sri Lankan group Stigmata will play at 8.00 p. m. inaugurating a night of rock! Formed in 1999, the group has adopted a style between metal and hard rock influences laced with nuances of classical, jazz, blues, baila and eastern rhythms.

The metal concert will be followed by the explosive live performance of Merzhin.

Jayaratne holds environmental cartoon exhibition

Jayaratne Wickramasinghe held an environmental cartoon exhibition organised jointly by the Ministry of Environment and Central Environmental Authority at the National School Auditorium, Pinnawela recently. It was opened by Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa.

Exhibition of paintings

An exhibition of Justin Daraniyagala's oil paintings will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on June 25, at the Courtyard at Cinnamon Grand, Colombo. The exhibition is open to the public. The exclusive book Justin Daraniyagala Oil Paintings will also be available for sale at the venue.

The book Justin Daraniyagala Oil Paintings and the exhibition are sponsored by the John Keells Foundation the CSR arm of the John Keells Group - under its Arts and Culture focus area.

Painting exhibition

Vasantha Namaskara's 85th exhibition of paintings entitled 'Kothitha Sutra' will be held at Sri Vidyananda Pirivena, Matale from June 19 to 30.

The exhibition was opened by Ven. Olaganwatte Chandasiri, Senior Lecturer Rajarata University and Thilak Abeysekera, SSP Matale.

Nekatha at two places

Neil B. Perera's Nekatha will be staged at St. Anthony's auditorium, Dunakadeniya on today at 3 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. There will be a repeat show at St. Xavier Vidyalaya hall, Marawila on June 26. The cast includes Mercy Edirisinghe, Miyuri Samarasinghe, K. D. Siripala, Kusala B. Perera, Neil B. Perera, Lucian Warnakula, Cyril Fernando, Ashan Chathuranga, Eranga Sandamali, Tajmal B. Perera and Shehara Nishari.

Lord of the Flies at Punchi Theatre

The English Drama Society of Royal College will present Lord of the Flies at the Punchi Theatre, Colombo 8 today shows begin at 7.30 p.m.

Lord of the Flies based on the Nobel Prize winning novel of William Golding, explores the dark side of humanity, the savagery that underlies even the most civilised human beings. Golding intended his novel as a tragic parody of children's adventure tales, illustrating mankind's intrinsic evil nature through a series of events that unfolds as a group of young boys attempt to survive in an uncivilised, unsupervised and isolated environment.

Anubudu Mihiduhimi and Sangamitta Rahath Theraniya

Two paintings entitled Anubudu Mihiduhimi and Sangamitta Rahath Theraniya by Wasantha Namaskara are exhibited at Jemson Meditation Centre, Ampitiya, Kandy.

Balloth Ekka Be

Two special shows of Balloth Ekka Be, a comedy written and directed by Ravindra Ariyarathne will go on the board at the Lionel Wendt theatre, Colombo 07, on June 25 at 3.30 p.m. and 7.00 p.m.

Naribena

Dayananda Gunawardena's dramas Naribena and Jasaya Saha Lenchina will be staged at the Lionel Wendt theatre , Colombo 07 on June 26 at 3.30 p.m. and 7.00 p.m.

Thelithudaka Saviyak

Some of the exhibits

An exhibition of paintings entitled Thelithudaka Saviyak by Anuska Jayasekara will be held from June 24-26 at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery, Colombo 07 from 8.00 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.

Workshop for students and teachers

A festival by Theatre of the People (Janakaraliya) will be held from June 23 to July 13 at the mobile theatre set up in Homagama. The Theatre workhop for students and teachers in the district is conducted at the mobile theatre by the Janakaraliya troupe.