Priyankara Rathnayake (born June 3, 1964 as si, ප්රියංකර රත්නායක) is an
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 ...
in
Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. Highly versatile actor mostly engaged in theater and cinema, Rathnayake is a lecturer and Head of Drama & Theatre and image Arts Unit, Department of Fine Arts in
University of Kelaniya
Pannaya Parisujjhati
, mottoeng = Self-purification is by insight
, established = 1875 Vidyalankara Pirivena1959 Vidyalankara University
, type = Public
, endowment =
, adminis ...
by profession.
Personal life
He started drama career under Somalatha Subasinghe's children and youth theater and state drama school. Then he joined Rajitha Dissanayake's drama troupe.
He entered to
University of Kelaniya
Pannaya Parisujjhati
, mottoeng = Self-purification is by insight
, established = 1875 Vidyalankara Pirivena1959 Vidyalankara University
, type = Public
, endowment =
, adminis ...
in 1989 and obtained the Bachelor of Arts Special Degree (Honours) in 1992. He completed Master of Arts Degree in Drama and Theatre from
University of Sri Jayewardenepura
''Vijja Uppattam Setta''
, mottoeng = Among all that arise, knowledge is the greatest
, established =
, undergrad = 14,750
, postgrad = 3560
, administrative_staff = 3950
, cit ...
in 2005. He is working as a lecturer and visiting lecturer for mass media, drama and theater as well as performing arts in
University of Peradeniya
The University of Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්යාලය, ta, பேராதனைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka ...
, National School of Drama, Tower Hall Theatre Foundation and Sripalee campus of
University of Colombo
(Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate)
, mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens''
, established =
, endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion .
Acting career
Rathnayake is credited for introducing famous plays by
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...
to the Sri Lankan theater with the titles ''Oedipus'' and ''Ada Vage Davasaka Antigone''. He also directed
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
' play ''
Lysistrata
''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponne ...
'' in 2015 as ''Visekariyo''. In 2016, he directed
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
’s
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
with the title ''Premawantha Kumarayo''.
In 2016, a four-day theater festival was held at the Lionel Wendt Theatre in Colombo from June 7 to 10 daily at 7 pm.
Notable works
* ''Ada Vage Davasaka Antigone''
* ''Asinamali''
* ''Bakamuna Weedi Basi''
* ''Oedipus''
* ''Poth Gullee''
* ''Premawantha Kumarayo''
* ''Sihina Horu Aran''
* ''Visekariyo''
Selected television serials
* ''Abhisamaya''
* ''
Ahanna Kenek Na''
* ''Charithayaka Paata Denna''
* ''Dhawala Yamaya''
* ''Diya Ginisilu''
* ''Giri Kula''
* ''Kadadora''
* ''Maheshika''
* ''
Manikkawatha''
* ''Sakarma''
* ''Satya''
* ''Sulangata Enna Kiyanna''
* ''Vishwanthari''
Author work
He wrote several books related to drama and media. One of them is ''Natya Vicharaya''.
Filmography
Rathnayake started his film career with ''Thunweni Aha'' back in 1996, directed by Anura Chandrasiri. His most popular cinema acting came through films ''Irasma'', ''Bandhanaya'' and ''Dedunu Akase''.
Awards and accolades
He has won several awards at the local stage drama festivals and television festivals.
Presidential Awards
, -
, , 1999 , , , ''
Dorakada Marawa'' , , Best Screenplay , ,
Sumathi Awards
, -
, , 2001 , , , ''Abhisamaya'' , , Merit Award , ,
Raigam Tele'es
, -
, , 2012 , , , ''Sulangata Enna Kiyanna''
''Kadadora'' , , Merit Award , ,
References
External links
Drama Festival by Priyankara Rathnayakeඅපේ වේදිකාවේ වෘත්තීය නළුවෝ නැහැසම්භාව්ය කෘති තුළ තමයි මිනිසුන්ට විනෝදයත් සමග දැනුවත් කිරීමේ ඥානය ලබා දිය හැකි උපරිම දේවල් තියෙන්නප්රියංකර රත්නායක පුදුමයට පත් කළ මෙරට වේදිකාවේ විශිෂ්ටතම නාට්ය හතමුළු සමාජයමටම අද බරපතල ප්රතිසංස්කරණයක් අවශයයියකැදුරාගේ සිට නාට්යවේදියා දක්වා
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathnayake, Priyankara
Sri Lankan male film actors
Sinhalese male actors
Living people
Sri Lankan actors
Sri Lankan male stage actors
1964 births