French Theatre company wows Dodanduwa

The fishing village of Dodanduwa has never been as noisy as it was at the finale of recent innovative performance of Box Meetings by internationally renowned French theatre company, Kumulus.

The final performance received not only a stand up ovation from the packed audience, but also enthusiastic cheers and whistles. The highly original performance of Box Meetings took place at the Chandrasevana Creation Centre, Dodanduwa on March 21 and 22. Box Meetings was created from the real experiences of its French and Sri Lankan cast and examined the notion of dreams and aspirations while also exploring fundamental questions about life.

From day one of the workshop to the final performance, the audience included people who had traveled from Colombo for the event. But the majority of the audience has consisted of local families.

Kumulus Artistic Director Barthemely Bompard said, “It was such a memorable experience, working with the people of Dodanduwa. To have achieved so much in such a short time was amazing, and it was satisfying to see the end result, with everyone putting in so much effort and energy into the show"

A unique exhibition of photographs titled Sing For Peace was also held at the centre to coincide with the theatre performance. The exhibition documented Sing For Peace, an outdoor concert featuring the best in Sri Lankan popular music, including local musicians, which took place in January in Galle to spread the message of peace throughout the various communities of Sri Lanka.

The event was made possible through the support of the British High Commission, with additional funding from Culture France and In Situ (European Street Theatre Promoters).