Sugathapala de Silva

Sugathapala De Silva (August 8, 1928 – October 28, 2002) is an acclaimed Sri Lankan dramatist and novelist.

De Silva was born in Nawalapitiya, Sri Lanka, on August 8, 1928, the son of a small trader. He grew up there, among Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim traders. His childhood experiences would later influence him to write the novels "Ikbithi Siyalloma Sathutin Jeevathvuha" and "Esewenam Minisune Me Asaw".

De Silva came to Colombo, Sri Lanka in the 1960s, and became engaged in the political and cultural movement, taking place there at that time. Nicknamed the "lovable dictator", he formed the drama group "Apey Kattiya" there, and started to translate and adapt plays by Tennessee Williams and Pirandello, like "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof" and "Six Characters in Search of an Author", to wide acclaim. He followed these plays with original ones, like "Thattu Geval" and "Boarding Karayo" which captured the mood of the new city-bred middle classes of the time. Among his other creations are "Eka Walle Pol", "Harima Badu Hayak", "Mutu Kumari", "Esala Sanda" and "Marasad".

De Silva's best play is considered by many to be "Dunna Dunu Gamuwe", which was written just after the 1971 insurrection in Sri Lanka. Although centered on a trade union struggle, it had an admixture of politics and art expertly mixed with technique and aided by some superb acting by the late U. Ariyawimal and Wilson Jayasiri was the precursor of the serious political theatre which followed at the end of the decade.

De Silva worked for long time at the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation as a producer, and in the late 1960s was in charge of the weekly radio play, and the weekly short story programs on the station, which were the first "stamping grounds" of writers and dramatists who are today well-known in their own right.

De Silva was bed-ridden since 1997, and after being admitted to a hospital, died on October 28, 2002.