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| Sunday, 03 August 2003 |
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Is the State Drama Festival only for Sinhala stage plays? The on- going festival at the Tower Hall,Colombo, has given rise to questions about the invitation of the Festival which, if judged on the basis of the plays that are being staged,appear to be limited to Sinhala drama only. The Festival, scheduled to conclude on August 14 has 27 Sinhala stage dramas and not a single Tamil or English drama. Parakrama Niriella, Chairman of the Sinhala Drama Sub-Committee, when questioned about the anomaly said that he was yet to find an acceptable answer as to why Tamil and English dramas were not included at the State Drama Festival." Since I was appointed, I tried to include both Tamil and English dramas to the State Drama Festival", he said, explaining that the Tamil Drama Sub-Committee had informed him that they could not attend the Festival as they had not completed the work in respect of the Tamil Drama Festival held in 2002. Niriella said that since he became the Chairman of the Sub-Committee, he had got a Tamil translation of the constitution that governs the committee and had given it to the Tamil Drama Sub-Committee for their consideration. He has also proposed that a Common State Drama Festival be held to share and benefit from the funds, which could also promote a healthy atmosphere of shared interests. "This has been accepted and I am confident we will be able to hold a State Drama festival with Tamils and Muslims taking part in it", he said. He said that the artistes were keen on having a common front. The members of the Tamil and Muslim Sub-Committees were also keen that we come together saying it was, however, necessary that the government and the Cultural Ministry play a bigger role in promoting programs of this nature, putting all on an equal footing. "We are also very encouraged to pursue the idea of holding a common Festival after fruitful discussions we had with the drama enthusiasts in the North and the East". The State Drama Festival was conducted in 1959,but became an annual event only in 1976,which also saw the Jaffna University include drama as a subject for the first time for a Degree Course. |
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