Seeing Beyond the Stage with Third Eye Theatre
By Angela Britto
Communications Assistant
Third Eye Theatre is an interdisciplinary community arts organization based in the town
of Batticaloa in Sri Lanka. Headed by Sivagnanam Jeyasankar, a performer and an academic at
the Eastern University in Sri Lanka, the company produces modern and traditional theatre. It
works with members of the surrounding villages (particularly with youth) and uses the arts to
develop local cultural resources. It calls itself a “local knowledge and skills activist group,”
gesturing to its commitment to an artistic practice that is not confined to a stage.
Though Third Eye works primarily in drama and the performing arts, members of its
collective are also actively involved in the visual and literary arts. Its members regularly hold
exhibitions and workshops in the community, and it publishes a regular anthology of writing
from local authors in its newsletter and several smaller zines. The interdisciplinary nature of
their work allows them to partner with other arts groups and aid organizations in the area to
create an aesthetic space where social issues can be discussed in a variety of ways. For
example, they regularly conduct theatre‐based workshops with university classes and in afterschool
programs with children and youth, on issues of gender‐based violence, anti‐oppression
practices, and the consequences of globalization for local cultural histories and resources.
One key aspect of this work is the preservation of traditional koothu theatre, which is a
form of folk performance that has continued in eastern Sri Lanka in the Tamil‐speaking
community. Koothu organically incorporates song, instrumental music, dance, and poetry into
the text and script of the performance. Koothu performances are an all‐night event, performed
on an open‐air circular and raised sand platform (kaleri). Third Eye uses this form to present
retellings and reformulations of Hindu epic narratives. These reworkings are done to better
represent low‐caste communities and women in the performances, maintaining its focus on
social equality and justice.
Koothu as a traditional folk art form is slowly disappearing. It has not been
conventionally defined as a “classical” form and so lacks the structures of support that other
modes have received in the country through the educational system, arts institutions, and
funding opportunities. Instrumentation, techniques, and choreography are the specialized
knowledge of a few community elders (annaviars). Third Eye works with these individuals to
workshop these skills with the youth of the community through after‐school programs and
educational initiatives of local NGOs, ensuring that this knowledge is passed on. This helps the
communities to value their own cultural, social, and physical environments. In addition, they
train teachers to incorporate local arts practices into their curriculum and educational
techniques. These alternative education practices emphasize literacy through rewriting scripts
and songs, complemented by the socializing, storytelling, and dance aspects of the art form.
I had an opportunity to meet the members of Third Eye Theatre when I visited Sri Lanka
in November 2010. They function in the most trying of conditions, working with communities
who have suffered decades of war, natural disaster, disappearances, and impoverishment. They
spoke about rehearsals and workshops being disrupted by shelling, village curfews, and
flooding. And yet their commitment to their artistic activism was unwavering and I was struck
by their genuine desire to preserve local performing arts traditions and promote knowledgesharing
within their communities.
By Angela Britto
Communications Assistant
Third Eye Theatre is an interdisciplinary community arts organization based in the town
of Batticaloa in Sri Lanka. Headed by Sivagnanam Jeyasankar, a performer and an academic at
the Eastern University in Sri Lanka, the company produces modern and traditional theatre. It
works with members of the surrounding villages (particularly with youth) and uses the arts to
develop local cultural resources. It calls itself a “local knowledge and skills activist group,”
gesturing to its commitment to an artistic practice that is not confined to a stage.
Though Third Eye works primarily in drama and the performing arts, members of its
collective are also actively involved in the visual and literary arts. Its members regularly hold
exhibitions and workshops in the community, and it publishes a regular anthology of writing
from local authors in its newsletter and several smaller zines. The interdisciplinary nature of
their work allows them to partner with other arts groups and aid organizations in the area to
create an aesthetic space where social issues can be discussed in a variety of ways. For
example, they regularly conduct theatre‐based workshops with university classes and in afterschool
programs with children and youth, on issues of gender‐based violence, anti‐oppression
practices, and the consequences of globalization for local cultural histories and resources.
One key aspect of this work is the preservation of traditional koothu theatre, which is a
form of folk performance that has continued in eastern Sri Lanka in the Tamil‐speaking
community. Koothu organically incorporates song, instrumental music, dance, and poetry into
the text and script of the performance. Koothu performances are an all‐night event, performed
on an open‐air circular and raised sand platform (kaleri). Third Eye uses this form to present
retellings and reformulations of Hindu epic narratives. These reworkings are done to better
represent low‐caste communities and women in the performances, maintaining its focus on
social equality and justice.
Koothu as a traditional folk art form is slowly disappearing. It has not been
conventionally defined as a “classical” form and so lacks the structures of support that other
modes have received in the country through the educational system, arts institutions, and
funding opportunities. Instrumentation, techniques, and choreography are the specialized
knowledge of a few community elders (annaviars). Third Eye works with these individuals to
workshop these skills with the youth of the community through after‐school programs and
educational initiatives of local NGOs, ensuring that this knowledge is passed on. This helps the
communities to value their own cultural, social, and physical environments. In addition, they
train teachers to incorporate local arts practices into their curriculum and educational
techniques. These alternative education practices emphasize literacy through rewriting scripts
and songs, complemented by the socializing, storytelling, and dance aspects of the art form.
I had an opportunity to meet the members of Third Eye Theatre when I visited Sri Lanka
in November 2010. They function in the most trying of conditions, working with communities
who have suffered decades of war, natural disaster, disappearances, and impoverishment. They
spoke about rehearsals and workshops being disrupted by shelling, village curfews, and
flooding. And yet their commitment to their artistic activism was unwavering and I was struck
by their genuine desire to preserve local performing arts traditions and promote knowledgesharing
within their communities.
