Category Archives: performance

August 27, 2018 · 1:43 am

Michelle de Kretser secures Miles Franklin Award Once Again: Two Reports

I = Jason Steger: “Michelle de Kretser wins her second Miles Franklin award,” Sydney Morning Herald, 27 August 2018

The first time Michelle de Kretser​ won the Miles Franklin Literary Award she missed out on much of the excitement and fuss – she was overseas at a writers festival and was woken in the middle of the night to hear the good news. On Sunday, however, she was fully rested and firmly ensconced at the Melbourne Writers Festival, ready to pick up the prize for her most recent novel, The Life to Come.

Winner of the 2018 Miles Franklin Literary Award Michelle de Kretser. Winner of the 2018 Miles Franklin Literary Award Michelle de Kretser …. Photo: Meredith O’Shea

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August 26, 2018 · 9:37 am

Goodness Gracious Me!….. Mama Mia to perform in Sri Lanka

Tina Edward Gunawardhana, in Daily Mirror, 26 August 2018

Mamma Mia will be staged at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapakse Theatre for an eight day run from 22-30 December as part of their international tour and will be their first ever performance in South Asia.

Mamma Mia is Just Craymer’s ingenious vision of staging the story telling magic of Abba’s timeless songs with an enchanting tale of family and friendship unfolding on a Greek island. Mamma Mia’s appeal is such that it has been seen by over 60 million people in 50 productions in 16 different languages worldwide. When it was first released in 2008 Mamma Mia the movie became the highest grossing live action musical film of all times. A sequel Mamma Mia Here we go again had its global release in July 2018. Continue reading →

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August 26, 2018 · 9:09 am

Sagara Nuwan Bandara of Watagala: War Hero now a Fishmonger

Pushpa Weerasekera, courtesy of Daily Mirror, 15 August 2018 , where the title reads“Celebrated war hero now sells fish”

The untold suffering and dedication of the war heroes, who were engaged in a thirty-year-armed-conflict, are indescribable. They were once treated as the saviours of this nation. However, this is the tragic story of a war hero, who waged war on behalf of territorial integrity and peace.

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August 26, 2018 · 8:25 am

Politics in Cricket and Cricket for Politics

Meera Srinivasan:, in The Hindu, 17 August 2017, where the title is  “Evoking the Politics of Cricket in Sri Lanka,”

Sparked by Imran Khan’s ascent to the Prime Minister’s chair in Pakistan, sporting fans in Sri Lanka have been quick to pitch their own cricket stars as prospective leaders. And going by social media endorsements, Kumar Sangakkara is clearly a favourite.

In their eyes, ‘Sanga’, with his known record of speaking truth to power, has potential of becoming President in 2020. Some even came up with a “dream team” led by the prudent batsman — not test or one day, but a Cabinet of Ministers under his leadership. For those who nurtured hope for Mr. Sangakkara’s political entry, especially after his thoughtful tweet on Sri Lanka’s Civil War anniversary this year, calling for solemn reflection to remember all Sri Lankan lives lost to war and to “open our hearts so that we are able to feel another’s pain without judgement…”, it didn’t last long.

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August 26, 2018 · 1:46 am

Serena’s Black Panther Suit outlawed from Roland Garros

AFP News Item in Sunday Observer, 26 August 2018, where the title is “Serena Williams banned from wearing Black Panther catsuit”

Serena Williams will be banned from wearing her ‘Black Panther’ catsuit again at the French Open after Roland Garros chiefs described the outfit as “going too far”. The 36-year-old American star stunned Paris this year in her body-hugging outfit which she said was inspired by the ‘Black Panther’ movie and made her feel like a ‘warrior princess’.As well as describing it as “fun and functional”, Williams insisted it helped her prevent a return of the blood clots which put her life in danger after giving birth last year. Continue reading →

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August 24, 2018 · 3:31 pm

Kumar as an Imran Khan? No, No, My Friend

Rip Van Winkle, in The Sunday Times, August 2018, where the title is “The corridor of uncertainty” .… with emphasis added by  The Editor, Thuppahi

I thought of writing to you when I heard you saying that you will not be running for the top job when the contest is held in little over a year. Hearing that, I was very disappointed – and quite surprised too because I always thought you would have been the ideal candidate to run the race next time around.

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August 21, 2018 · 3:29 pm

Sri Lankan Baila: Its Roots and Variations

Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya, courtesy of THE CEYLANKAN, Vol XXI, No 3, August 2018 … with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi

The extraordinary love of the Portuguese for music is epitomised at El Ksar el Kabir in Morocco, in 1578, where 10 000 guitars lay on the battlefield, near the dead Portuguese soldiers. The Portuguese took guns and guitars to battlefields! Is it surprising that the Portuguese presence is vibrant through Sri Lankan popular music – Baila?

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August 20, 2018 · 3:19 pm

Terrorsim in Britain has been Blunted and Contained

THE SPECTATOR, Editorial, 18 August 2018, with title “Terrorism isn’t ‘losing’. It has already lost”

By now, the routine is familiar: a lone wolf strikes, roads are sealed off, buildings locked down and a biographical picture begins to emerge. Often, the perpetrator turns out to be born and bred in Britain. His astonished friends and neighbours say they saw no signs that he had succumbed to fanaticism. It later emerges that radicalisation happened incredibly quickly — perhaps inspired by online videos — and the terror plan was so low-tech that interception would have been impossible. How, it might be asked, can any country protect itself against such threats?

Pic from Getty

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July 27, 2018 · 10:29 am

Awful Events in July ’83: Will We Ever Learn

Harim Peiris, in Daily News, 23 July 2018, where the title reads “‘Never again’: The enduring lesson of July 1983, after 35 years” …. with highlights being the work of The Editor, Thuppahi

July 23 marked the 35th anniversary of one of post-independent Sri Lanka’s darkest chapters, the July 1983 pogrom against Tamil civilians throughout the country. The pogrom was sparked by an ambush of an Army patrol in Jaffna, by the LTTE, then one of several militant groups operating in the North, in which the entire platoon of 13 soldiers was wiped out.

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July 23, 2018 · 3:32 am

Shreya Ghoshal to sing in Melbourne This August

Item from The Indian Sun, 22 July 2018, where the title runs “Shreya brings her scores to the shores Down Under”

The beautiful and rich voice of Shreya Ghoshal will be heard on Australian shores this August when the singers, one of the most famous in Bollywood, performs live. Often referred to as an “energetic powerhouse” on stage, Sheya’s off-stage persona is very different from what you see on stage. “Sometimes it is good to be ignorant of yourself,” laughs the singer.

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