Tower Hall in Colombo

By the second half of the nineteenth century, temporary venues hosting several plays mushroomed all over Colombo. These were the only form of audio-visual media offering entertainment to the inhabitants of the city. The temporary venues were used as theatres in Colombo and the most popular amongst them were Pavilion Theatre, Public Hall and Saraswathie Hall. The tower hall in Colombo was the first theatre in the truest sense of the term in Sri Lanka. The theatre was the handiwork of Maradana alias G.D.Hendrick Seneviratne. Since the clock tower next to the hall was built to exemplify the 'Tower of London', it came to be known as the Tower hall Theatre. The tower hall in Colombo was opened on the 6th of December, 1911 by Anagarika Dharmapala, revered as the National Hero of the nation. Initially, the tower hall staged plays of the playwright Charles Dias. But later, plays by John de Silva were also staged. This period is described as the tower hall era which constitutes an important place in the history of drama of the island. After passing through a period of crisis, normalcy was restored in the tower hall in Colombo. Of late, the tower hall theatre Foundation operates as the National Centre of the International Theatre Institute (ITI).

Objectives and activities of tower hall in Colombo:

  -   The theatre hall focuses on fostering theatrical performances.
  -   It also works to further the knowledge, understanding and practice of the Theatre.
  -   Financial aid is offered to Theatre artistes and craftsmen.
  -   Production, experimentation and performance of opera, dance, drama and music are the main objectives of the tower hall.
  -   The major focus of the theatre is restoration, maintenance and utilization of the tower hall as a 'national monument'.
  -   The theatre concentrates on preservation of the famous and lesser known Nurthi songs and improving the quality of art performances.
  -   The hall is committed to promote native and traditional theatre.
  -   The tower hall theatre foundation is engaged in activities like Lionel Edirisinghe Centre for Performing Arts, President's Welfare Fund for Performing Artistes,Theatre Service Bureau, Museum Tower Theatre, Kalapura Housing Scheme for Artistes, Tower Hall Artistes Welfare Scheme and Tower Hall Drama and Dance school.