The Navarangahala (''"New Theatre"''), in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, is one of the main national

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

s of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

History

I. M. R. A. Iriyagolle, Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs laid the foundation stone for the Royal Primary School Hall on 11 November 1966. Specially designed for local drama and music which required open air type auditorium in accordance to

Natya Shastra The ''Nāṭya Shāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary b ...

, construction took place between 1966 and 1969, carried out by the 4 Field Engineer Regiment, SLE. Funding for the construction and equipment came from the government and donations. Until it was built there were no purpose-built indoor theatres for the local arts, apart from the few open air amphitheatres. It was officially opened by the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Dudley Senanayake Dudley Shelton Senanayake (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan wikt:statesman, statesman who thrice served as Prime Minister of C ...

on 1 August 1969. Following the amalgamation of Royal Preparatory School with Royal College in December 1977, Navarangahala became part of Royal College.

Notable events

On 22 May 1972 the House of Representatives of Ceylon met at the Navarangahala to finalise and approve the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, which proclaimed establishment of the Republic of Sri Lanka.

References

{{Royal College, Colombo Theatres in Colombo District Legislative buildings in Sri Lanka Cultural buildings in Colombo Royal College, Colombo Tourist attractions in Colombo