“Counting and Cracking” – A Play by a Tamil with Universal Appeal

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“Counting & Cracking” is a play that spans four generations of a Tamil family across Sri Lanka and Australia from 1956 to 2004. It was first produced by Belvoir and Co-Curious at the Sydney Town Hall in January 2019 for the Sydney Festival. With a cast of 19, the play runs for three and a half hours.


The play has been staged at various festivals, including the Adelaide Festival (March 2019), Edinburgh Festival (August 2022), Birmingham Festival (August 2022), RISING festival in Melbourne (May 2024), and again in Sydney during July. It is also scheduled for staging in New York in September.
Featuring a cast of 16 actors from six different countries, speaking five languages and performing 50 characters, "Counting and Cracking" follows a Sri Lankan-Australian family over four generations, from Colombo to Pendle Hill.

RaySel, Renuka Thuraisingham, and Kulasegaram Sanchayan share their experiences with the stage epic “Counting and Cracking.”






Listen to SBS Tamil at 12 noon on channel on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays & 8pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays on SBS Radio 2. Find your area’s radio frequency by visiting our .For listening on DAB+ , search for ‘SBS Radio’.

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