Nuga Gahak — නුග ගහක් (An Oak Tree)

A road accident ties together the two characters of Nuga Gahak: a stage hypnotist who was driving, and whose power of suggestion has deserted him since, and a father whose daughter died. They first come face to face after the crash when the father volunteers for the hypnotist’s act.

Kanchuka Dharmasiri translated An Oak Tree, by British playwright Tim Crouch, into Sinhala and directs it. Priyantha Sirikumara plays the hypnotist. The other part goes to a different actor at each performance, someone who has not seen the play, read the script or rehearsed; on 28 October it is Gehan Blok.

Loss, suggestion and the power of the mind are its themes, with dark humour throughout, and the British Council’s Connections Through Culture Grant supports it. It starts at 7pm on Wednesday 28 October. Reserved seats cost Rs 5,000, Rs 3,500, Rs 2,500 and Rs 2,000; the unreserved balcony is Rs 1,000.