A night at the theatre that moved many to tears
Poignant moment between mother and son, played by Nadie Kammallaweera and Shiv Palekar. Pix by Pia Johnson courtesy Belvoir St. Theatre
Theatre performances have never moved me to tears. Yet when Thiru bedraggled and anguished, advanced to the apron of the stage with a band of refugees to face the audience, I teared up. I swear that we looked into each other’s eyes; such was the intensity of that scene. Later, I learned I was far from being the only one who felt that way. Others had cried that day, and on other days of the showing at Melbourne University’s Unity Theatre.
This stemmed, perhaps, from the heartrending story of Thiru (Antonythasan Jesuthasan), who arrived two decades too late to reunite with his wife, Radha, who departed pregnant from Sri Lanka, their land of birth, in the tumult of the communal riots in July 1983, having been informed he was dead. That was a poignant reminder that the core of this story lay in the suffering inflicted by war and political ambitions on ordinary people, with tragic events leaving lasting imprints on the psyche.
Counting and Cracking, the joint creation of playwright Sri Lankan-Australian S. Shakthidharan and director Eamon Flack, spans four generations, from Sri Lanka to Australia. At its heart is Sid (Shiv Palekar), short for Siddhartha, a young man caught between cultures, wrestling with the Sri Lankan Tamil heritage his mother, Radha (Nadie Kammallaweera), wants him to preserve, and his Australian upbringing. She hectors her son into scattering the ashes of his grandmother in the Georges River in New South Wales. These ashes have been under her bed for 21 years, the time she has been in Australia. Typically third-culture, Sid is disdainful but reluctantly obliges. Moments later, we see him in a heart-to-heart with Lily, his Australian First Nations girlfriend, about tradition and their grandmothers’ tales. The conversation shifts his perspective.
The ashes buried, Radha appears ready to move on, even contemplating a date with a flirtatious Turkish Australian airconditioner salesman, when a phone call from Sri Lanka resurrects Thiru from the dead, along with her past. He’s on the line, has been in prison, freed but now under threat again, and wants to board a boat bound for Australia to join her and their son. She is distressed, barely able to talk to him. Ultimately, it is Sid who talks to the father he never knew and reconciles events. As he navigates through the narrative, themes of dispossession, displacement, family, culture and identity emerge, shaping his evolving worldview.
Heartrending portrayal: Thiru played by Antonythasan Jesuthasan
Thiru’s phone call transports the audience back to Radha’s childhood household in 1956, a pivotal time when the Sinhalese began to reclaim power lost during colonization. Educational and language strategies led to divisions among communities. The consequences of these measures are depicted through the stories of Radha’s Tamil family, and their Sinhalese and Tamil friends and acquaintances, and servants. Sid’s politician grandfather’s dream of an egalitarian
Sri Lanka is lost in the reality of democracy: “the counting of heads within certain limits, and the cracking of heads beyond those limits.” What followed was Tamil militancy in the north and socialist Sinhala movements in the south, culminating in insurgencies, communal rioting in 1983, and a 30-year separatist war. The effects reverberate into recent times, with contemporary tragedies like the assassination of Leader newspaper editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, which also features.
Without the stereotypical bias of a political agenda, Counting and Cracking is raw, nuanced and balanced storytelling of a truth few care to admit – there are no winners in war. The dilemmas of both the Sinhalese and Tamil communities are portrayed, with acts of compassion alongside hostility. Radha’s parents’ Sinhalese domestic aides are the platform to reflect concerns of the Sinhalese underprivileged. Siddhartha is a name revered by Buddhists. The role of the senior Radha is played by a Sinhalese.
Although specific to the Sri Lankan context, the play alludes to the global tragedy of war through the presence of an international cast of just 19 performers from six countries who bring to life more than 50 characters across four generations on a single open set depicting a gated courtyard. The actors deliver their lines in flawless Sinhala and Tamil with simultaneous English translation woven into the script. Momentary confusion caused by swift character changes are smoothed out in the rapid progression of events. Typical Sri Lankan wisecracks lighten up the heaviness of the theme. A Carnatic ensemble comprising Kranthi Kiran Mudigonda, Janakan Suthanthiraraj, and Venkhatesh Sritharan complements the mood from a platform on the set. Three and a half hours with two short breaks slip by easily in this gripping storytelling experience.
Counting and Cracking is written and associate directed by S. Shakthidharan and directed and associate-written by Eamon Flack. Set and costume design are by Dale Ferguson, lighting design by Damien Cooper, and sound design and composition by Stefan Gregory. Jointly presented by Belvoir St Theatre and Kurinji, it debuted in the Sydney Town Hall in 2019 and played in Melbourne and Sydney this year. It has been applauded as a classic by major media, and to date, has won 14 major awards including the Helpmann Award for Best Production and Direction.
Counting and Cracking will be showing at NYU Skirball, New York, USA in September.
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