In Tamil we dont say goodbye. Only, I will go and come back. S. Shakthidharans extraordinary multilingual play Counting and Cracking traverses countries and decades to bring us an epic tale of family, love and politics. On the banks of a river in Sydney, Radha and her son Siddhartha release the ashes of Radhas mother so she can be at peace with her ancestors. Into the water go the particles of one life, but unknown to Siddharta, Radha still holds onto the ashes of her beloved grandfather, brought with her when she left Sri Lanka 21 years before. And so begins a story that spirals out across Australia and Sri Lanka, taking in four generations of a family and their connection to a country that continues to give them equal measures of sorrow and joy. It is an exhilarating, moving and necessary tribute to people of all backgrounds who are forced to live in exile and build a new home from the heart up.
S. Shakthidharan (Shakthi) is a Western Sydney storyteller with Sri Lankan heritage and Tamil ancestry, Hes a writer, director and producer of theatre and film, and a composer of original music. Shakthi is the Artistic Director of Kurinji and Artistic Lead at Co-Curious. Co-Curious is a sister company of award-wining community arts company CuriousWorks, where Shakthi was the Founder and Artistic Director from 2003 to 2018. Shakthi was the inaugural Carriageworks Associate Artist, is currently a Belvoir Associate Artist and is a recipient of both the Phillip Parsons and Kirk Robinson awards.
A story of survival and hope, of human connectedness, and our deep desire to understand three things -- our history, our identity and what "home" means to us. -- Community response
