Bronze medal for Common Man

A Common Man, starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Ben Cross was the Bronze medal winner at the New York film festival. The award was presented at a gala red carpet event at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas.

The award was accepted on behalf of Manohan Nanayakkara and Chandran Rutnam by James Rutnam, the Editor and the Executive Producer , Paul Mason The co-stars of the film, Patrick Rutnam and James Koch attended the event. A Common Man , which premiered in the United States at the Music Hall in Beverley Hills, Califonia, will be released in Sri Lanka soon. The film also features Jeromes De Silva, Numaya Siriwardena, Mohammed Adamaly, Dushyantha Weeraman, Kian O'Grady, Sando Harris, Ashan Dias, Teddy Vidyalankara, Veena Jayakody, Wilson Gunaratne, William Sirimanne and Lucky Wickremanayake.

The adapted screenplay was written by Chandran Rutnam who directed the film . 'A Common Man' is an Asia Digital Entertainment Production.

Rangapam Iwarai at Lionel Wendt

Udayasiri Wickramarathne's Rangapam Iwarai will be staged at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on May 3 at 7 p.m.

The cast includes Sriyantha Mendis and Kamal Addaraarachchi.

Magul Parasthava at Kurunegala

Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra's popular play Magul Parasthava and Ekata Mata Hina Hina will be staged at the Town Hall, Kurunegala on May 16 at 8.30 a.m. and 10.45 a.m. The cast includes Prasannajith Abeysuriya, Supun Tharanga Dheerasinghe, Rasika Jayalath, Nayana Hettiarachchi, Dhanushka Dias, Chamara Prasad and Tharanga Bandara.

Samutthana's Evening of Music

Rukshan Perera was in the spotlight at Samutthana's 'Evening of Music' which was held at Westminster House, the residence of the British High Commissioner, recently . The charity event was organised by Samutthana, the Kings College London Resource Centre for Trauma, Displacement and Mental Health.Rukshan has been associated with Samutthana since he first arrived from the USA four years ago.

Rukshan Perera

He has shown a great interest in Samutthana's work on peace and reconciliation, and been very supportive of the psycho-social work being carried out. The proceeds from Rukshan's first live concert in January 2010 was for Samutthana, and this big hearted philanthropist performed again for this charity.

He served up an exuberant potpourri of variety and jazz, as he took us through the dynamics of pitch, melody, harmony, rhythm, tempo, meter and articulation, as only Rukshan can!

The music was rhythmic driven, creating pulsating sounds with Jehan Rajapakse on the congas, Chrys Wickremanayake on the piano and Shamal de Silva on keyboard. Rukshan's sonic qualities with timbre and texture wowed the audience as he spanned a wide spectrum from the earlier days of the Beatles and the Bee Gees, through to the unforgettable soul-jazz genre of George Benson, to the contemporary sounds of his original music.

This multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist also cooked up a storm on the guitar, mouth organ and keyboard, and treated the audience to his unique offering of jazz-scatting and two-part harmony-whistling, which went down a treat.The varied audience seemed well pleased with the selection of songs and by the interactive nature of the performance.

Two outstanding pieces were, Lady is a Tramp, and the Jazz improvisation of Twinkle-Twinkle. From intuitive toe-tapping and spontaneous clapping to a full-blown sing-along session, everyone joined in with Rukshan's vocal voice floated and flexed convincingly in a set of favourite vintage, 'golden oldies' that seem timeless and perennial.

Hunuvataye Kathava goes to Gampaha

Henry Jayasena's popular play Hunuvataye Kathava will be staged at the Bandaranaike Hall, Gampaha on May 14 at 2 p.m, and 6.30 p.m.

The cast includes Nalin Pradeep Uduwela, Prasannajith Abeysuriya, Nimal Jayasinghe, Chamika Hattalawatte, Ruvani Manamperi, Vijitha Salgado, Lalith Janakantha, Warnatunge Senanayake, S.I. Samarakkody, Indika Fernando, Thamari Chathurika, Tharindu Nuvan Dias, Udeni Priyadarshani, Kushan Rathnayake, Chula Kariyawasam, Lalindra Dissanayake, Roy Vasantha, Niluka Rajamanthri and A.S.M. Rizvi.

Sakunthala goes to Kandy

Richard Manamudalige's Sakunthala will be staged at the Hindu Cultural Centre auditorium, Kandy on May 17 at 2.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.

Balloth Ekka Be at Lionel Wendt

A scene from the play

Ravindra Ariyarathne's Balloth Ekka Be will be staged at the Lionel Wendt theatre on May 4 at 7 p.m. The cast includes Wijaya Nandasiri, Kumara Thirimadura, Roshan Pilapitiya, Gihan Fernando and Anusha Dissanayaka.

Rukada Rajje at Angunakolapelessa

Priyantha Ranjan's Rukada Rajje will be staged at the Town Hall, Angunakolapelessa on May 17 at 3.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. The cast includes Wijaya Nandasiri, Rodney Warnakula, Priyantha Seneviratne, Sarath Chandrasiri, Gamini Ambalangoda, Fernie Roshani, Kumara Liyanage, Indika Jayasinghe and Tharanga Bandara.

Dhavala Bheeshana at Panadura

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake's award-winning play Dhavala Bheeshana will be staged at the Town Hall, Panadura on May 17 at 3.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.

The cast includes W. Jayasiri, Warnathunge Senanayake, Jehan Srikantha Appuhamy, Amil Gulanga, Oshadi Gunasekera, Jagath Chandralal, Ishara Pramuditha Wickramasinghe, Susanga Kahandawalarachchi, Nigel Raymond, Arunod Wijesinghe, Sunimal Perera, Sumitha Amarasinghe and Kosala Lakshitha.

Neinage Suduva at Padukka

Bandara Kelegama's Neinage Suduva will be staged at the Siri Piyarathana Vidyala auditorium, Padukka on May 26 at 3.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.

The cast includes Bandara Kelegama, Kulasiri de Silva, Bhathiya Madanayake, Tillekeratne Liyanage, Kithsiri Hewagamage, Tharushi Seneviratne, Ranjith Silva, Ajith Kotuwila, Ruwan Amarasekera, Thulitha Vaidyakeerthi and Vajira Indika.