The Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre ( si, නෙළුම් පොකුණ මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ රඟහල, ''nelum pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa rangahala''; often known as Nelum Pokuna; previously the National Performing Arts Theatre, prior to naming at the opening ceremony after which the President Mahinda Rajapaksa named it after himself) is a performing arts centre in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, Sri Lanka. The theatre opened on 15 December 2011.

Design and features

The architecture of the building is inspired by the 12th-century ''Nelum Pokuna'' (lotus pond) in

Polonnaruwa Poḷonnaruwa, ( si, පොළොන්නරුව, translit=Poḷonnaruva; ta, பொலன்னறுவை, translit=Polaṉṉaṟuvai) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa Dis ...

. Built by King Parakramabahu the Great, Polonnaruwa's Nelum Pokuna is shaped as a stylised eight-petalled lotus flower. The total estimated cost of the project is LKR 3,080 million. Government of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

provided LKR 2430 million out of the total cost of the building. The building spreads over of floor area. The theatre is equipped with an auditorium with 1,288 seats, a library, and training facilities. The building features two permanent theatres—the main auditorium and an open-air theatre—and the ability to convert the front steps into an additional open-air theatre. The moving stage in the auditorium includes the ability to raise and lower the orchestra pit to and from stage level. There are facilities to conduct educational and research activities. Parking for 500 vehicles is also available.

Building history

In 2005 China expressed willingness to construct a cultural theatre in Colombo, in memory of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's late husband

Vijaya Kumaratunga Kovilage Anton Vijaya Kumaranatunga ( si, කොවිලගේ ඇන්ටන් විජය කුමාරණතුංග; ta, விஜய_குமாரணதுங்க; 9 October 1945 – 16 February 1988), popularly known as Vijaya ...

who was a popular

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. The foundation stone was laid to the project by her. The National Performing Arts Theatre's construction began in 2006 and took four years to build. The theatre's construction was completed around early 2011 and it was opened in December 2011. It was ceremonially opened by Sri Lankan President

Mahinda Rajapakse Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

and China's Vice President of the Chinese Republican Committee, Sang Chiang. During the opening the Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha was renamed to Nelum Pokuna Mawatha, later reverted to Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha.

Notable shows, productions, and events

The Nelum Pokuna Theatre has shows, productions, and other bookings scheduled through September 2012. For opening night, an opera was produced by leading Sri Lanka artistes, such as Jayantha Chandrasiri,

Rohana Weerasinghe DR. Rohana Weerasinghe (born February 18, 1949), is a Sri Lankan musician, composer and singer. Early life Weerasinghe was born on 18 February 1949 in Algiriya, Matara in southern Sri Lanka. He was the youngest child to his parents Henry Weer ...

and Channa Wijewardena, starting with a rendition of ''Jagan Mohini Madura Bashini'' by Pandith Amaradeva. A Chinese opera was also produced upon opening. The Chinese opera depicted the story of fourth-century Chinese-Buddhist monk

Fa-Hsien Faxian (法顯 ; 337 CE – c. 422 CE), also referred to as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien and Sehi, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India to acquire Buddhist texts. Starting his arduous journey about age 60, h ...

's travels to Sri Lanka. Both performances employed the Seda Mawatha concept, incorporating both film and drama. In November 2013, the Theatre hosted its first symphony orchestra concert, by the Commonwealth Festival Orchestra, with 87 musicians from the UK, India and the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, conducted by James Ross. The venue was initially chosen to host the

ABU Radio Song Festival 2014 The ABU Radio Song Festival 2014 was the second edition of the biennial ABU Radio Song Festivals, organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). The festival took place on 23 May 2014 in the Sri Lankan city of Colombo. The Nelum Pokuna ...

on 23 May 2014, but was later moved to the Stein Studios, in Colombo. The Nelum Pokuna Theatre was the site of the opening ceremony of the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Gallery

File:Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre.JPG, Theatre File:04 Colombo (43) Gledališče Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa.jpg, Facade File:The exterior of the theatre.JPG, Facade detail File:The auditorium entrance.JPG, Entrance File:Chinese artistes perform at the auditorium 2.JPG, Auditorium

Notes and references

External links