Gaya Nagahawatta engages in diverse fields as writer, editor, translator, interpreter, theatre practitioner, radio and television programme producer, and event coordinator, working in both English and Sinhala. She has experience in the state and private sectors, as well as in the development field. She has also lectured at the Universities of Colombo, Kelaniya, Sri Jayawardenapura, and Sabaragamuwa.
She has translated eclectic collections of stories and plays from Sinhala to English and vice versa and edited award-winning works of fiction and theatre scripts.
Translations (to English)
- Three poems by Eric Illayapparachchi & Ruwan Bandujeeva, in Out of Sri Lanka: Tamil, Sinhala & English Poetry from Sri Lanka & its Diasporas, Bloodaxe Books, 2023
- ‘The bomb at the roof-top restaurant’ & ‘Against Colombo’ (poems by Eric Illayapparachchi) on addastories.org, Commonwealth Foundation, 2021
- ‘Second Time Round, the Silver Bullets Found his Heart’ (short story by Piyal Kariyawasam) on literaryshanghai.com, 2020
- ‘Two Nails of Concrete’ (short story by Piyal Kariyawasam), journal of South Asian literature, City 5, June 2017
- Me vs I (theatre script by Piyal Kariyawasam), Agahas Publishers, 2015
- ‘The electric chair is for sale’, translation of catalog-essay of Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s annual memorial art exhibition, 2015
- ‘Kafka and the Patriarch’ & ‘The Captain’s Sons’ (short stories by Eric Illayapparachchi & Dayasena Gunasinghe). Contemporary Short Stories of the SAARC Region, SAARC Cultural Centre, 2013
Translations (to Sinhala)
- ‘Colomboscope’ interdisciplinary arts festival, catalog, publicity, & onsite material on artists & artworks, 2015 to date, intermittently
- ‘Paada paricharikavo’ (‘Las Meninas’ by Michel Foucault), Prabhawa journal, University of the Visual and Performing Arts (UVPA), 2015
- Ape Kalaye Upama Katha (adaptation of James Thurber’s stories into regional Sinhala), Godage Publishers, 2008
- ‘Me bhumiya vasayata nusudusui’ (‘This Property is Condemned’ by Tenessee Williams) adaptation as a radio drama, for Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, 1999
- Kontharathtuwa (The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter) represented final round of State Drama Festival 1996 & won awards for production. Published as book, 1997
- Translated the theatre scripts Ashes to Ashes by Harold Pinter, Hinterland by Sebastian Barry, & How He Lied to Her Husband by Bernard Shaw, 1991-2009
Essays & Reviews (in English)
- A Marriage, A Village, A Country & Everything In Crisis: ‘Paradise’ Movie review, Colombo Telegraph, Aug. 2024
- Meet The Brothers Size In A Local Backyard, Jan. 2024
- A Magical Road-Trip With Bulletproof Children: A Film Review, March 2023
- Grappling With A Malakada Panatha, In Lock-Up: Review Of Sujith Rathnayake’s Latest Exhibition, 2023
- Catalog-essay for Priyantha Udagedara’s art exhibitions, Aicon Contemporary, New York, 2023
- Catalog-essay for Priyantha Udagedara’s art exhibition, Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, 2020
- Paper on theatre published in Bound by Culture: Essays on Cultural Production Signifying Gender by Women Unlimited, India, 2020
- Catalog essays, inaugural speeches, & editorial assistance for exhibition of female artists collective held annually titled ‘Space’, at J.D.A. Perera Gallery, Colombo, 2015-18
Language Editing
- Piyal Kariyawasam’s fiction
- ‘Monadology’ Art Exhibition Catalog of Degree Show, Sri Palee Campus, 2015
- As Member, Compilation Committee of A Book Editing Guide: Sri Lanka Word Style, published by Social Scientists’ Association, wrote an essay on translation, 2011
Stage Drama & Broadcasting - Costume Designer, Production Manager, Translator, & Media Coordinator of mainstream stage dramas, intermittently from 1993 onwards
- Organized the Theatre Forum & Workshop Series of Colombo International Theatre Festival, 2014-15
- Television Programme Producer for Bonsoir produced by the French Embassy, telecast on Rupavahini, 2003-05
- Compiled & presented Me Ape Kaalayai, a weekly magazine programme on SLBC, 1994-97
Visual Arts & Sculpture
- Member of Exhibition Committee, Sujith Rathnayake’s exhibition, Lionel Wendt Gallery, Feb. 2023
- Catalog essays, inaugural speeches, & editorial assistance for exhibition of female artists collective held annually titled ‘Space’, at J.D.A. Perera Gallery, Colombo, 2015-18
- Engaging in sculpture at the Vibhavi Academy of Arts, 2012 onwards
- Book covers and photographs for books, 2006 onwards
- Won awards in photography including at the National Photographic Art Society of Sri Lanka
Member of Jury
- State Literary Festival 2022 onwards (Categories: English short stories, teenage books, translations of fiction to English), Department of Cultural Affairs
- Islandwide School Drama Competitions, Education Department, 2017-19, 2022 to date
- State Drama Festival 2016, Department of Cultural Affairs
Subtitling (in English)
- Our Mother, Grandmother, Prime Minister: Sirimavo, documentary by Anomaa Rajakaruna, which won Best Documentary Women Filmmakers Section, 21st Dhaka International Film Festival, Bangladesh, 2021
- Ballet in Three Acts, documentary by Daniya Scheulova on a danseur in the Bolshoi Theatre, Russia, 2020
- Documentary series (10 videos, 20 minutes each) by Swedish video artist Jesper Nordhal on female garment factory workers in the Free Trade Zone, Sri Lanka, 2006-11