Counting and Cracking

A vibrant, three-act epic follows four generations over five decades from Colombo to Australia and tests the complex strength of family love.

It begins with Radha and her son Siddartha on the banks of Sydney’s Georges River, scattering Radha’s mother’s ashes—their final, physical link to Sri Lanka’s turbulent history. Then an unexpected call from Colombo brings the past rushing back.

Counting and Cracking is a true family saga that follows four generations from 1956 to 2004—through family secrets, love and upheaval.

Nineteen performers from six countries play 50 different characters. Incense swirls. Bare feet crisscross the sandy stage. Wisecracking Tamil and Sinhalese intertwines with English, in communal acts of translation.

Apah, Rhada’s grandfather, wants equality but is taught early on that democracy is “the counting of heads, within certain limits, and the cracking of heads beyond those limits.” By the end, we’ve learned the deep truths behind that Colombo mystery, on the other end of the line.