• Ruwanthie de Chickera on sociopolitical storytelling through theatre

In 2000, a group of seven friends in their 20s gathered around a simple idea: to make serious, original theatre in English. 

At a time when most English productions in Sri Lanka were comedies or musical adaptations, their ambition seemed unrealistic. Yet that small group, led by playwright and director Ruwanthie de Chickera, laid the foundation for what would become one of Sri Lanka’s most enduring theatre companies. 

Now in its 25th year, Stages Theatre Group boasts a portfolio of more than 50 original productions performed both locally and internationally. Its work has travelled to India, Pakistan, Rwanda, the UK, and the UAE. Its ensemble has grown from a few friends to hundreds of artists, youth, and children who use theatre as a way to question, imagine, and rebuild their world.

With its 25th anniversary taking place this weekend, The Sunday Morning Brunch sat down with Stages Theatre Group Founder and Artistic Director Ruwanthie de Chickera to reflect on this milestone, a quarter-century of sociopolitical storytelling, and what the arts needs to truly thrive.

From friends to a movement

“Stages started the way most theatre companies start — a group of friends getting together and saying ‘let’s do a play.’ We had a story to tell and a script I had written,” Ruwanthie recalled.  

The founding team included her brothers Amal and Gihan de Chickera, Shakthi Ranatunga, Prasad Pereira, Deanne Uyangoda, and Michael de Zoysa. Most of them eventually left the company to pursue other careers — law, human rights, corporate leadership — but their early energy helped set the tone for what Stages would become.

“We started off with a very clear vision — the first thing we wanted to do was bring serious original English theatre — something that didn’t really exist at that point,” Ruwanthie shared. 

“We weren’t alone in doing this; others were doing this too and trying to move away from the musicals, comedies, and imported theatre that were predominant at the time. But from the start, Stages committed itself very strongly to original, excellent English theatre that raised sociopolitical issues.” 

Their early work, like ‘Last Bus Eke Kathawa,’ tackled social and political themes rarely seen in English theatre then. “We quickly realised audiences were hungry for meaning,” Ruwanthie said. “They wanted theatre that spoke to their realities.”

Breaking boundaries

As Stages evolved, it became known for blending social engagement with experimentation. One of its early innovations was introducing forum theatre to Sri Lanka during the civil war years. 

“It was impossible to talk about serious issues directly because of censorship. Forum theatre brought interactive storytelling to Sri Lankan audiences and gave people a way to talk safely about things they couldn’t otherwise. 

“It subsequently became a popular way to take things forward for Sri Lankan artists in other languages as well,” Ruwanthie explained, sharing that the unscripted nature of forum theatre allowed practitioners to bring audiences into the story, discuss, and even act out possible solutions.

By 2004, Stages began collaborating with Sinhala theatre artists, creating bilingual scripts and building bridges across languages and audiences. It also started working with non-artists. One project with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) involved working weekly with patients to create and perform a play.

In 2012, Stages took another leap by shifting to devised theatre — building scripts from workshops rather than starting with finished writing. “We didn’t know this was being done elsewhere,” Ruwanthie said. “We just began rehearsing around an idea and let the story emerge.”

This approach produced a creative burst: ‘Kalumaali,’ ‘Caste As Mother,’ ‘Grease Yaka,’ and ‘Walking Path.’ ‘Kalumaali’ became a landmark production, performed in both Sinhala and English with the same cast. “Actors like Kaushalya Fernando and Peter D’Almeida performed in both languages,” Ruwanthie said. “It brought audiences together who had never before shared a space.”

Research and collaboration-led theatre

By 2015, Stages was integrating journalism, law, and social research into its process. The ‘Dear Children, Sincerely (DCS) Seven Decades of Sri Lanka’ project emerged from deep collaboration with researchers and journalists, using interviews to create theatre rooted in lived experience.

That work led to a cross-continental partnership with Rwanda. “Our collaboration with Rwandan artists began through that project,” Ruwanthie said. “It became one of our most important relationships. Every year since, we have worked together, sharing stories of resilience and reconciliation.”

Stages Theatre Group’s international work has also brought its artists to festivals in Abu Dhabi and Kerala. “The biggest highs for me are when I see our artists being recognised abroad for their integrity and skill,” Ruwanthie said. “In those moments, I feel our work has been seen, that the effort and struggle meant something.”

While its productions have earned critical acclaim, its quieter impact lies in what it has built for others.

In Maharagama, the company operates what the team at Stages internally calls ‘Elvis,’ a studio and artist residency that offers free rehearsal and living space for artists travelling to Colombo. “We called it Elvis because it’s on Elvitigala Mawatha,” Ruwanthie said with a laugh. “But it’s one of the few places where artists can stay, rehearse, and work without financial stress.”

Stages also prioritises paying artists fairly, even when budgets are tight. “From the beginning, we believed in paying for labour, even if it was Rs. 500 at the start,” she said. “Now we pay comparatively well and we’re transparent about our accounts. It’s about respect.”

Equally important is documentation. “We study and record our processes so future artists can understand how we worked,” she explained. “There’s no structured study of contemporary theatre in Sri Lanka.”

In 2021, as Sri Lanka emerged from the pandemic, Stages noticed the toll Covid-19 had taken on young people. “Children and youth had been through isolation, hopelessness, fragmentation,” Ruwanthie said. “We realised we needed to invest in them.” This birthed the Stages Youth Ensemble, a group of young actors and storytellers now in its third year that provides community through theatre.

From that realisation came Change Culture, a nationwide network of youth and children’s theatre ensembles. There are now 14 ensembles across the island — from Colombo to Jaffna, Bogawantalawa, and Galle — run by 25 trained community artists. The programme supports over 350 children and youth, offering weekly child-led workshops and producing dozens of original plays.

“Our youth and children are writing, acting, and directing their own stories,” Ruwanthie said. “It’s our biggest investment in the next generation of artists.”

Each year, these groups come together for the ‘3rd Bell Children and Youth Theatre Festival,’ which showcases their work and fosters collaboration between young performers from diverse regions. “It’s about building community,” Ruwanthie said. “They learn that their stories matter, and that art can be a form of leadership.”

Highs, lows and persistence

Despite global recognition, Stages has never had an easy path.

“The hardest part is how difficult it still is to be an artist in Sri Lanka,” Ruwanthie said. “I’m 50 now. I’ve been doing this since I was in my 20s, and I wish I could say it has become easier. Our country makes it hard to be an artist — financially, socially, and structurally.”

She has seen many talented colleagues leave the country because they couldn’t survive. “It breaks my heart,” she said. “We lose the best people and it doesn’t have to be that way.”

The biggest highs, she added, came not from awards or recognition but from moments of connection. “When we perform and audiences are deeply moved, or when I see artists find themselves through the work, that’s the real reward.”

As Stages turns 25, Ruwanthie is preparing to allow younger artists to take ownership. “It’s a good place to be,” she said. “I feel Stages has become much bigger than me. I see younger people with new skills and visions. It must evolve in their hands.”

Two new productions are already in development. ‘Katawaha,’ inspired by real experiences of two youth ensembles, will explore stigma around illness and disability through immersive, bilingual storytelling. “It deals with how society treats people with cancer and speech challenges,” Ruwanthie said. “It’s a hard play, but it’s also hopeful.”

Another project, ‘Ken B. Eniwan’s Story,’ will be staged in Sri Lanka for the first time after performances abroad. And beyond these productions lies a larger dream: a national theatre festival. “We’ve wanted to do this for years,” she said. “We’re finally in a position to attempt it — if we find the support.”

The milestone of 25 years

To mark its 25th year, Stages is presenting ‘25|Stages,’ a free two-day event at the Kamatha New Theatre, BMICH that commenced yesterday (25) and will continue today (26). It features excerpts and monologues from its most memorable productions, bringing together artists from across its history.

For Ruwanthie, the event is both a celebration and a statement. “So few theatre companies in Sri Lanka survive this long,” she said. “It’s not because we lack commitment or talent. It’s because there’s so little structural support — from the State, from corporations, from universities, from the press.”

She hopes the milestone prompts reflection on the place of the arts in national life. “If we want real development, we have to develop our imagination,” she said. “We can’t build a future if we don’t build our artists.”

In a country where most theatre groups fade within a few years, Stages Theatre Group’s survival is both rare and instructive. It shows what persistence, integrity, and collective effort can achieve, even without a system that makes it easy.

“Stages has never been about me,” Ruwanthie said. “It’s about an idea — the belief that theatre can change the way we think, speak, and live together. That belief still holds. And as long as it does, there will be work to do.”