Living (Sri Lanka)

UNCONVENTI­ONAL ACTOR

Arun Welandawe-Prematille­ke

- PROFILED BY Savithri Rodrigo

His architect parents were nonconform­ists; and thank goodness for that because they made Arun Welandawe-Prematille­ke’s growing up years happy, accepting and fun. This is despite him struggling with a draconian and abusive academic milieu, and confusion about his sexuality that forced him to sand those queer edges in a bid to fight depression.

He was born in Helsinki where his mother Hirante was reading for her master’s degree. His father Madhura stayed at home to look after the children and turned convention­al gender roles upside down.

Doing what made one happy was ingrained in the family. Taking a cue from his parents, who were his most ardent supporters, Arun let his emotions flow into theatre and literally acted on the phrase ‘let’s put on a play.’

Starting to write in his teenage years, he honed his knowledge of cinema and theatre to begin directing at 16, and eventually gained a Bachelor’s Degree in Drama and Theatre Arts from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Very much an open book, Arun’s talent lies in writing and directing plays that deal with thorny, messy and ‘swept under the carpet’ issues. He makes people gasp!

From intersecti­ons of gender to sexuality, queerness and class, he continues pushing the envelope. Arun was rewarded with the 2018 Gratiaen Prize for The One Who Loves You So. Paraya, Only Soldiers and Blowhards were also works that brought on as many brickbats as they did bouquets.

His acting is intense but there’s also some wit thrown in as was seen in A Play in a Day put on by Mind Adventures Theatre Company at the British Council when he was their ‘artist in residence.’ The Chicago Internatio­nal Arthouse Film Fest bestowed on him a Best Actor Award for The Joyous Farmer directed by Hiran Balasuriya.

Whether theatres open soon or not is yet to be seen; but there’s a first draft of a film and a new play in the works, plus a chapter to sharpen his skills and see what else is out there.

It’s always thrilling when something you made up in your head can lodge itself in someone else’s

I can be quite pedantic and usually have a very specific vision

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