John de Silva
John de Silva was a Sri Lankan playwright.
Life and career
Early life
De Silva was born on 13 January 1857 in Kotte. He worked as a teacher and a lawyer before entering theater. His first drama Parabhava Natakaya was a satire on the upper class.Playwright
De Silva was influenced by the work of C. Don Bastian, the creator of the ‘Nurthi’, who was also the editor of the first daily Sinhala news paper. De Silva wrote and produced several historical and religious plays drawing from nurti and nadagam traditions. These include Siri Sangabo, Sri Vickrama Rajasingha, Devanampiya Tissa, Vihara Maha Devi and Dutugemunu. He also scripted Ramayana, Sakuntala, Vessanatara, Uttara Ramacharitaya, Ratnavali and Nagananda.De Silva staged his early plays at the Public Hall with the Sinhala Arya Subodha Natya society. He later formed the Vijaya Ranga society and staged his plays at the Gintupitiya Theatre. de Silva died on 28 January 1922.