My Award Winning Translation: The Academic Voice of Janakaraliya Mobile Theatre

by Vasantha Wakkumbura

Translating theatrical dialogue for the stage is about capturing the immediate, visceral emotion of a fleeting moment. Translating an academic and research text about theatre, however, requires a completely different kind of discipline. It demands that you capture not just the soul of the performance, but the rigorous analytical framework surrounding it.

My work translating Ranga Manupriya’s extensive research from Sinhala to English, published as “JANAKARALIYA – THEATRE OF THE PEOPLE: An Analytical Study on Janakaraliya Performance”, was a profound exercise in linguistic precision, theoretical accuracy, and cultural preservation.

The Essence of Janakaraliya:

To understand the weight of this translation, one must understand the subject. Janakaraliya (Theatre of the People) is not just a theatre group; it is a vital, nomadic cultural movement in Sri Lanka. It utilizes a mobile theatre space that travels across the island, intentionally bypassing urban elites to bring the performing arts directly to grassroots communities. It serves as a bridge across ethnic and social divides.

Translating Manupriya’s analysis of this movement required careful
navigation of sociological, political, and theatrical terminologies. The goal
was to ensure that the global academic community could fully comprehend the structural significance and the social impact of this unique Sri Lankan
theatrical phenomenon without losing the localized nuances of the original
Sinhala text.

A Milestone in Academic Translation:

The responsibility of carrying such a crucial piece of our modern theatrical history across a language barrier was immense. It requires the translator to act as an invisible bridge between the original researcher’s intellect and a new, global readership. It was deeply validating when this painstaking effort was recognized at the national level.

The translation was awarded the Best Translated Work in the Academic and
Research Category at the 2022 State Literary Awards, Sri Lanka.

Translating this book was more than an academic milestone in my career; it
was a way to ensure that the legacy of a theatre built for the marginalized is
studied, understood, and respected on an international scale.