The Public Theater & NYU Skirball to Present COUNTING AND CRACKING in September

The Public Theater and NYU Skirball will begin performances of the Sri Lankan-Australian epic COUNTING AND CRACKING at NYU Skirball on Friday, September 6. The Belvoir St Theatre and Kurinji co-production of COUNTING AND CRACKING, written and associate directed by S. Shakthidharan and directed and associate written by Eamon Flack, makes its North American premiere after acclaimed engagements in Australia and the United Kingdom. The winner of seven Helpmann Awards, the multilingual play is staged in English, Tamil, and Sinhalese and features 19 performers in a multigenerational story of a Sri Lankan-Australian family from 1956-2004. The sweeping play will run through Sunday, September 22, with an official press opening on Thursday, September 12.

“Counting and Cracking is the result of talking with dozens of Sri Lankans from around the world, including finally my own mother as she opened up to me about her buried secrets and those of my ancestors. This show is an epic celebration of our community in all its glorious complexity: an opportunity to journey together into our most deeply held truths, to find a path to reconciliation,” said playwright S. Shakthidharan. “I'm still a little in shock that this Australian story is coming to New York with The Public. The way that audiences of all kinds, from all over the world, have embraced our show has given me hope that we can find unity in our differences, and that love is tricky and cheeky and joyous in resonant ways in everyone's families. I can't wait to share Counting and Cracking with you this fall.”

Belvoir St Theatre's COUNTING AND CRACKING, by S. Shakthidharan and directed by Eamon Flack, comes to NYU Skirball this fall for its North American Premiere after critically acclaimed productions in Australia and the United Kingdom. The sweeping, episodic play features 19 performers from across the globe on a multi-generational journey of a Sri Lankan-Australian family from 1956-2004. Radha fled Sri Lanka with her unborn child as the nation struggled with conflict. Two decades later, her son Siddhartha, now an Australian man who knows little of his family's background, receives a call from the past that changes everything he thought he knew, and who he thought he was. One of the most highly anticipated premieres of 2024, COUNTING AND CRACKING is a joyous, epic story of family, forgiveness, the ghosts we leave behind, and the power of love.

The cast of COUNTING AND CRACKING includes Rodney Afif, Prakash Belawadi, Senuri Chandrani, Antonythasan Jesuthasan, Nadie Kammallaweera, Ahilan Karunaharan, Abbie-Lee Lewis, Gandhi MacIntyre, Radhika Mudaliyar, Shiv Palekar, Dushan Philips, Sukhbir Singh Walia, Nipuni Sharada, Kaivalya Suvarna, Rajan Velu, and Sukania Venugopal. They are joined by musicians Kranthi Kiran Mudigonda, Venkhatesh Sritharan, and Janakan Suthanthiraraj.

COUNTING AND CRACKING includes set and costume design by Dale Ferguson, lighting design by Damien Cooper, and sound design and music composition by Stefan Gregory. Anandavalli serves as choreographer and costume and cultural advisor.