The tenth Colombo International Theatre festival 2024 comprising  ten countries  will be held from August  24 – 30  at the Elphinstone Theatre, Colombo from  6.30pm.  The Festival Chief Guest will be Sissy Papathanassiou Historian, Author, Director and the Founder and  President of The Analogio International Festival. 

Workshops  will be conducted  from the 25 th to 29 th August  at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre – Colombo (Indian Cultural Centre). The Colombo Theatre Forum will be held from 26th  to 29th August (International Directors Conference) at the Goethe-Institut – Colombo. The Felicitation of the  Late Jayalath S. Gomes  the former Secretary of the CITF will be  held  during the festival.  

When asked about the main aims of the Festival, M.Safeer, Festival Director  said it is to build relationships between local and foreign theatre communities, artistes and scholars. It also  provides Sri Lankan theatre artistes the rare opportunity to interact with their foreign counterparts. It also hopes to expose Sri Lankan theatre lovers to modern international theatre standards and develop a sense of appreciation on modern Performing Arts among students and young adults. Furthermore it wants to position  Sri Lanka as a cultural hub in Asia for showcasing international Performing Arts.  The awards night will be held on August 30.  

Established in 2012, the Colombo International Theatre Festival (CITF) stands as the pioneer and sole global theatre festival in Sri Lanka’s theatrical history. Serving as a vital link between Sri Lanka and the international theatre community, they navigated the complexities and challenges to sustain the  CITF from 2012 to 2019. Unfortunately, unforeseen events like the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/21 and the 2022 economic and political crisis compelled them to temporarily halt the festival despite  wanting to hold it for the past three years.  

“However, with renewed determination in 2023, we  successfully resurrected CITF, marking a triumphant conclusion. The Colombo International Theatre Festival inaugurated in 2012 (CITF) is a high-profile international annual theatre event which offers a platform for theatre fraternity of the world, facilitating multicultural interaction and showcase productions from various countries spanning all five continents,”said M. Safeer, Festival Director. The main objective of this festival is to invite globally reputed theatre groups to visit Sri Lanka and perform; offering an opportunity to the Sri Lankan theatre fraternity to witness and understand the standard, quality and the latest trends in the universal theatre.  

At present, according to Safeer, only a handful of privileged people in Sri Lanka get the opportunity to travel abroad to witness an international theatre event which involves an exorbitant amount of money as well as alot of time. He adds that about 70 countries have already participated in this annual event. “We receive over 200 applications every year, which explains the eagerness of foreign teams to perform in Sri Lanka,” he says.  

The CITF brings foreign artistes, scholars and critics every year not only to perform but also to visit beautiful spots in our country. Even in a small scale, this brings foreign exchange and enhances the image of our country. Diplomatic Missions, the Ministry of Culture and the Arts, German Cultural Centre, Indian Cultural Centre, Media sponsors, leading corporate sector organisations and many well-wishers have joined hands in the past and acknowledged the importance of this annual event and extendend their unwavering support.  

He adds “We are building a competitive section to raise the quality of the Theatre Festival and to uplift the image of Sri Lanka through winning foreign productions. We introduced a new area  to the festival which is termed Mono Drama competition from 2023, which comprises  one/ single actor  in a play according to  global trends.”

By Kshalini Nonis