Somalatha Subasinghe

Somalatha Subasinghe
Born (1936-07-02)2 July 1936
Gampaha, Sri Lanka
Died 30 May 2015(2015-05-30) (aged 78)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nationality Sri Lankan
Education University of Peradeniya
Occupation
  • Actress
  • Playwright
  • Stage director
  • Teacher
Spouse(s) Lionel Fernando
Children Kaushalya Fernando, Shyamalika Nanayakkara
Relatives D. W. Subasinghe (brother)
Awards

Somalatha Subasinghe (2 July 1936 – 30 May 2015) was an award winning actress, playwright, theatre director and educator from Sri Lanka.[1] She received both the Kala Suri and the Kala Keerthi in recognition of her contribution to Sri Lankan theatre.

Biography

Early life and education

Somalatha Subasinghe was born in Gampaha on 2 July 1936. Her father was a principal and her mother was a teacher. She attended Musaeus College and later Buddhist Ladies College, Colombo. After successfully completing her Advance Level examination, she entered the University of Peradeniya in 1958 and read Sinhala, Economics and History for her degree.[2]

Involvement in theatre

Having shown an interest in art and music from a young age, Subasinghe's stage career took off while she was studying at the University of Peradeniya. Her first role, at age 24, was that of an old woman, the only female character in the original cast[3] of Ediriweera Sarachchandra's play Raththaran.[4] Sarachchandra encouraged her to consider a career in acting and became a lifelong influence on her.[3]

She founded the Lanka Children’s and Youth Theatre Foundation (LCYTF) (also known as Play House - Kotte) in 1981.[5]

Awards and Honours

Somalatha Subasinghe won Best Director and Best Translated Production awards for the stage play Yadam and the Best Director award for the play Antigone, at State Drama Festivals.[6] She has been recognised with the national Kala Suri award. She was given the Kala Keerthi awards for her contribution to theatre on 15 November 2005.[7]

Plays

Somalatha Subasinghe's involvement in Sri Lankan theatre included her participation as an actress and later, as a scriptwriter and director of her own productions.[3][8] When she appeared as Sara in Mudu Puththu by Gunasena Galappaththi she performed her own songs, and sang with rhythm and melody.[8] The play, an adaptation of Garcia Lorca's Yerma,[1] included a well known song that is now sung by children.

Educationist

Somalatha Subasinghe joined the Education Department of Sri Lanka in 1962 as a graduate teacher.[6] She taught drama at Nalanda College, Colombo in the mid 1970s.[9]

Films

Somalatha Subasinghe also acted in films including Viragaya, Madol Duwa, Mahagedera, Thilaka Saha Thilaka, Me Mage Sandai, Sudu Kaluwara and Siribo Aiya.[10]

Television dramas

Somalatha Subasinghe acted in several television dramas including Ella Langa Walawwa, Gamperaliya and Suba Anagathayak.[11]

As a stage actress

As playwright/director

Plays for children

Family

In 1962, Somalatha was married to Lionel Fernando, who has acted as Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Malaysia, the Netherlands and France.[2][12] They have two children, Kaushalya Fernando,[13] who is married to Dr. Chandana Aluthge,[14] and Shyamalika Nanayakkara.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "She opened a magical chapter for children's drama". The Sunday Times. 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Somalatha's significance". The Sunday Observer. 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Multi-faceted theatre personality Somalatha Subasinghe". The Sunday Observer. 2001. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Successful survival". Ceylon Today. 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "Somalatha Subasinghe; Pioneer of children's theatre". Sunday Times. 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Veteran dramatist Somalatha Subasinghe's funeral today". News.lk. 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "National Honours". Sunday Observer. 20 November 2005. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Somalatha Subasinghe: Creator of quality children's entertainment". The Sunday Observer. 16 November 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  9. ↑ ස්‌කෝලෙට යක්‌ බෙරයක්‌ ගන්නත් නාට්‍ය පෙන්නුවා ගාමිණී හෙට්‌ටිආරච්චි අතීතාවර්ජනය
  10. ↑ "Actress Somalatha Subasinghe passes away". News First. 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  11. ↑ "Veteran dramatist Somalatha Subasinghe passes away". Daily Mirror. 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Somalatha Subasinghe plays multiple roles on 'Celeb Chat'". Sunday Times. April 24, 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Somalatha, doyen of drama no more". Sunday Observer. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  14. ↑ "Doyen of Sinhala drama bids farewell to the nation". Daily News. June 1, 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.