At this year’s international Fringe you can witness the harrowing tale of ‘Counting and Cracking’ written by S. Shakthidharan. Following one Sri Lankan family, their story is told through a multi-generational lens demonstrating the impacts of civil war and the dangerous journey of immigration. Performances are at the Lyceum Theatre, from 8th-14th August.
At the emotional core of this story is Radha (a younger version portrayed by Vaishnavi Suryaprakash and an older version by Nadie Kammallaweera). We witness Radha’s story from her birth in 1956, where she’s rebelling to marry for love in 1977, to fleeing her homeland of Sri Lanka as a pregnant Mother to escape the violent political divisions between the Sinhala and Tamil factions in 1983. Now in 2004, residing in Sydney, we see Radha trying to suppress the pain of her past as she tries to pass the traditions of her culture onto her confused son Siddhartha. Siddhartha (played by Shiv Palekar) is a university student suffering an identity crisis. Carrying a Sinhala name, he endeavors to understand more about his Tamil heritage. The blossoming romance between Siddhartha and Lilly (portrayed by Abbie-Lee Lewis) illustrate the wants and needs of young people trying to work out where they belong in this world and how their own cultural identities shape their understanding of where they’ve come from and who they want to be. In this tale the past haunts the present as Radha is forced to confront her traumatic history of leaving her native home and comes face to face with someone she considered to be dead.
The cast of exceptionally talented performers eloquently present this story with passion to convey the culture that Radha saw crumble in front of her eyes. Inspiring performances illustrate the emotional complexity of humanity, this ensemble provide wonderful moments of humour and brilliant dramatic confrontations.
S. Shakthidharan’s script is one of a personal journey embedded harmoniously through the characters presented in this story. It utilises three different languages; Tamil, Sinhala and English. Counting and Cracking is a moving triumph of the tenacity of the human spirit surpassing corrupt governing bodies and reconciling with trauma. Director Eamon Flack deserves a theatrical medal of honour for keeping the three and a half hour play full of life and energy. The wonderful staging allowed for audiences to be immersed within the story whilst being educated and emotionally impacted. With Dale Ferguson’s cracked and sandy set design, alongside the brilliant addition of live music, the audience is transported into Sri Lankan culture which stays present throughout the play.
Overall Belvoir and Co-Curious’s production is a beautiful representation of what it means to possess cultural identity and the heartbreaking ramifications of when that identity is stripped from us.
You can learn more about ‘Counting and Cracking’ via the link below…
https://www.eif.co.uk/events/counting-and-cracking#about-the-show
Theatre Scotland 
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