Counting and Cracking Digital Programme

CHILDREN’S THEATRE PARTNERSHIP & BIRMINGHAM REP PRESENT

By S. Shakthidharan Director Eamon Flack

FRI 19 - SAT 27 AUG 2022

WELCOME FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR This year - from September ‘21 to October ‘22 Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company is marking 50 years in this iconic theatre, and we’re inviting you to celebrate with us. The Company is well over a hundred years old, but moved here, to Graham Winteringham’s magnificent RIBA Award winning building from the ‘Old Rep’ in 1971.

As the city’s world-class producing theatre we have been enormously grateful for the support of Birmingham 2022 Festival for some of our programme this year – including this production of S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack’s Counting and Cracking. We’re proud to be the only UK showing of the production outside this year’s Edinburgh International Festival.

Since then, many world premieres have graced our stages, and many more significant actors, directors, writers, and designers have created work here that has lived long in the memories of those who saw it. The Rep is a special theatre in a special city.

Live theatre of any kind is a unique shared part of our culture... I believe the stages of The Rep are some of the best places in the UK to experience the excitement and joy it can bring, and look forward to sharing this powerful production with you. So, if you see one play this summer, make it this one. You won’t be disappointed, I’m so proud to host this award-winning play in our city, in your theatre.

Birmingham today is on the move: the world’s most important, super-diverse city, one of the youngest in Europe, hosted the Commonwealth Games, and The Rep was right at the heart of that creativity and buzz.

Sean Foley Artistic Director

WRITER’S NOTE Ten years ago I was hungry. Hungry to learn about my mother’s homeland. To know my history. So I started on a journey that had no clear end.

I read everything there was to read on the subject. I had conversations with so many gracious and intelligent Sri Lankans from all around the world. I was reeling from the overload, but slowly, very slowly, a story was being born.

It was a story about parents and children. About coming together and breaking apart and coming together again — in our families, our governments, our countries.

And this story became something bigger than my own hunger. It became something that had a power. The power to help my mother reconcile with her homeland. To connect people across deep divides. The power to collapse time and join continents.

The story became less about fitting my community into a simple narrative, and more about presenting a group of people in all their glorious complexity. It became less about discovering ‘the truth’ of what happened in Sri Lanka, or what brought us to Australia, and more about understanding the stage as a sacred space where many truths can gather at once.

The stories we choose to believe in underlie all our actions, thoughts and feelings. In Counting and Cracking I hope to provide audiences with a new story to believe in: about Australia, about Sri Lanka. It’s a story in which migrants are not asked to discard parts of themselves to fit in, but instead are asked to present their full selves, to expand our idea of what this country can be. It’s a story of how the politics of division can win the battle, but never the war, around how power is gained in this world. It’s a story in which love may not triumph over adversity, but through sheer persistence and resilience can eventually overcome it. And finally it’s a story about reconciliation: between parents and children, between neighbours and enemies, between your new home and your old home, between society and its institutions.

Many different types of humans came together to make this show. People from very different walks of life, companies from very different parts of the creative industries. It’s been quite the ride for all of us, as we have each utilised our different sets of expertise to make this wildly ambitious dream a reality. No one entity could have done it on its own. Much like the story of Counting and Cracking, the process of making this work proves that real power can be gained when different groups come together to create something new. © S. Shakthidharan

Our 50th Season is sponsored by DLA Piper in Birmingham

DIRECTOR’S NOTE Counting and Cracking was rehearsed on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. It is a show about the forms of connection we live and die by, how they can be broken, and how they can be revived and made new. It is about what happens when the big systematic forms of connection (nation states, political institutions, economies) come into conflict with the more human scale forms of connection (love, family, story, language, home). The big stuff has developed more and more into a kind of protection racket that feeds off the human stuff in exchange for often dubious claims to order and stability.

And as with any uneven contest, the impact of a big force on a small one is inherently violent.

The tense and fragile situation that forms the context of the play is both specific to Sri Lanka and common to many people and places. The Gadigal people, for example, were the first to experience the direct impact of the English colonisation of Aboriginal land. Disease and the loss of food-gathering grounds were the most immediate devastations. Government-ordered massacres, cultural desecration, environmental destruction and the shattering of a way of life followed.

The first English boats were followed by thousands more, and the story of the Gadigal was repeated across the continent.

Photograpy © Brett Boardman

But all that time, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people staged a great resistance and revival, which continues today. It takes place on every scale of connection — family, culture, language, economy — and goes to the heart of the unresolved sovereignty of the Commonwealth of Australia. In other words, the right of a single family to speak its own language and tell its own story has repercussions for the foundations of the whole of society and vice-versa.

Which is also the story of Counting and Cracking. It began as a very personal story, and it still is, but its magic is that it is bigger than itself. When Shakthi first presented an early draft of the play, such a show was not then possible. It took an almighty effort from an unprecedented coalition of people and communities to make it possible. It is itself the product of new and revived connections between different people, families, communities. Some of those encounters were as raw and real as those depicted in the show, and in fact some of them became key moments in the play.

Counting and Cracking is what it is about. Revived connections, new connections, new stories are always possible, and increasingly necessary. We mix from here and there, now and then. Water and water. © Eamon Flack

CAST Rodney Afif Ismet, Mr. Levi and others

Shiv Palekar Siddhartha and others

Kalieaswari Srinivasan Understudy

Shanaka Amarasinghe Jailor, Vinsanda and others

Gandhi MacIntyre Priest, Kadalai Karan and others

Harish Vijaya Understudy

Prakash Belawadi Apah and others

Sukhbir Singh Walia Hasanga and others

Biman Wimalaratne Understudy

Emma Harvie Young Dhamayanthi, Swathi and others

Vaishnavi Suryaprakash Young Radha

Kranthi Kiran Mudigonda Musician

Kaivalya Suvarna Young Thirru and others

Janakan Suthanthiraraj Musician

Nipuni Sharada Young Nihinsa

Venkhatesh Sritharan Musician

Antonythasan Jesuthasan Older Thirru and others Nadie Kammallaweera Older Radha Ahi Karunaharan Sunil and others Abbie-lee Lewis Lily and others

Rajan Velu Fundraiser, Bala, Maithri and others Sukania Venugopal Older Nishinsa, Aacha, Older Dhamayanthi and others

CREATIVES S. Shakthidharan Writer & Associate Director

Laura Farrell Voice Coach

Barry Searle Production Manager

Eamon Flack Director & Associate Writer

Amy Hume Voice Coach

Georgiane Deal Stage Manager

Anandavalli Costume & Cultural Advisor

TRAVELLING CREW

Ayah Tayeh Assistant Stage Manager

Dale Ferguson Set & Costume Designer Damien Cooper Lighting Designer Stefan Gregory Composer & Sound Designer Tim Dashwood Fight Director Nigel Poulton Fight Director

Steve Hendy Head of Lighting/Programmer Tom Houghton Head Mechanist Chloe Greaves Wardrobe Supervisor/Dresser Zainab Syed Producer/Company Manager

Clive Meldrum Associate Sound Designer Gayda De Mesa Head of Sound/FOH Mixer Clare Hibberd Radio Microphone Technician

Sue Donnelly Executive Producer

TRANSLATIONS

PHOTOGRAPHY

Tamil – Kulasegaram Sanchayan Sinhala – Nadya Perera With the support of Shanaka Amarasinghe, Anthony Jesuthasan, Nadie Kammallaweera, Ahilan Karunaharan, Ghandi Macintyre, Nipuni Sharada and Rajan Velu.

© Brett Boardman, 2019 Sydney Town Hall, Australia.

CAST & CREATIVES

Rodney Afif Ismet, Mr Levi and others Rodney Afif trained at the Victorian College of the Arts School of Drama, Melbourne. His stage credits include Wait Until Dark, Three Sisters, The Balcony, Two Brothers, The Golden Dragon, Glengarry Glen Ross and Macbeth with the Melbourne Theatre Company; Othello (in the title role) for the Eleventh Hour Theatre Company, Melbourne; and Good Muslim Boy and Because the Night at the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne. His films include Lucky Miles, Ali’s Wedding, The BBQ, Hotel Mumbai, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Killer Elite, My Year Without Sex, Love’s Brother and Serenades, and the award-winning shorts Azadi and Checkpoint. His television credits include Romper Stomper, Rosehaven, Offspring, Winners and Losers, East West 101, Satisfaction, Rush, All Saints, City Homicide, Network Seven’s RFDS: Royal Flying Doctor Service, The Hunting and The Commons.

Based in: Melbourne, Australia

Prakash Belawadi Apah and others Born in Bengaluru, Karnataka, Prakash Belawadi is a theatre, film, television and media personality, teacher, activist and journalist. He has represented India as a delegate in many international seminars, conferences and festivals, and is a mentor at Chanakya University, Bengaluru.

He has acted in numerous stage plays and web series, and in over 70 films, performing in English and five Indian languages. The television series Garva, which he wrote and directed in 2001, is considered a Kannada classic. His debut film Stumble (2003), which he also wrote and directed, won the National Award for Best Film in the English Language.

He received the META Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2005 and the Helpmann Award for Best Actor in 2019 for Counting and Cracking. His honours include being named ‘Pratibha Bhushan’ in 2003 by the Government of Karnataka for his contribution to culture; the Karnataka Nataka Academy Award for his contribution to English and Kannada-language theatre; and the Government of Karnataka’s Rajytosava Award last year. He is a founding member of Citizens for Bengaluru and a founder of the Greater Bengaluru Parisara Foundation, a trust which works for sustainable resources and infrastructure.

Based in: Bangalore, India

Shanaka Amarasinghe Jailor, Vinsanda and others Shanaka Amarasinghe is a lawyer, yoga teacher, actor and media personality. Since making his stage debut in Playing Doctor in 1996, his theatre credits have included Ubu Rex for Mind Adventures, Checkpoint for Stages Theatre Company, Equus for the Combined Theatre Company, Art and God of Carnage with the Broken Leg Theatre Company; Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Namel Malani Punchi Theatre, Colombo; Asymmetry and Sherlock for Silent Hands; a revival of Playing Doctor for the Combined Theatre Company; Glengarry Glen Ross for Identities Inc.; and If I Were You, directed by William Scott Richards for the British Council to commemorate its 60th anniversary. His film and television credits include the Doctor in Deepa Mehta’s Academy Award nominated Midnight’s Children and the series Good Karma Hospital for ITV. As a lawyer, he works for Sri Lanka’s largest legal firm, Julius & Creasy, in Colombo.

Based in: Colombo, Sri Lanka

Emma Harvie Young Dhamayanthi, Swathi and others Emma Harvie trained at Actors Centre Australia, Sydney, and at the Atlantic Acting School, New York. Her stage credits include 44 Sex Acts in One Week for Clubhouse Productions; Wherever She Wanders for Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney; My Brilliant Career, The Wolves and The Astral Plane for Belvoir; Dance Nation for Belvoir and the State Theatre Company of South Australia; The Last Wife and Taking Steps for Ensemble Theatre, Sydney; Wrath for KXT/JackRabbit; A Cheery Soul, The Harp in the South Parts 1 and 2 and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Sydney Theatre Company; The Hypochondriac for the Darlinghurst Theatre Company, NSW; The Wolves for Redline Productions; The Players for Bell Shakespeare, Sydney; and Orfeo ed Euridice in the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, as part of the Spectrum Now Festival. Her films include Ladylike for Chekhov’s Gun Productions, and her television credits include Colin from Accounts for Easy Tiger/ Binge; Season 2 of Frayed for Guesswork/Merman; Diary of an Uber Driver for ABC/ Revolver; and Season 2 of The Letdown for ABC/Netflix.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Antonythasan Jesuthasan Older Thirru and others Antonythasan Jesuthasan was born in Sri Lanka and is currently based in Paris. His films include Benoît Jacquot’s Casanova, Matthew Heineman’s A Private War, Cédric Anger’s L’amour est une fête, Satha Piranavan’s Friday and Friday, Lenin M. Sivam’s Roobha, Leena Manimekalai’s Sengadal, Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda’s Men in Blue, Eric Barbier’s forthcoming Tehu, Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Notre Dame brûle, Dinara Drukarova’s forthcoming Le grand marin, Cédric Jominez’s Bac nord and the Palme d’Orwinning Dheepan, directed by Jacques Audiard. He also appears in A Loyal Man, directed by Lawrence Valin. For his work in Dheepan he was nominated for the César Award as Best Actor and an International Online Cinema Award. In 2015 he was named Best Actor in the ICS Cannes Awards.

In addition to his acting work, he has written several books including Shoba: Itinéraire d’un réfugié, Gorilla, Traitor, The MGR Murder Trial and La Sterne Rouge.

Based in: Paris, France

Ahi Karunaharan Sunil and others Ahilan Karunaharan is a multi-disciplinary artist of Sri Lankan Tamil ancestry who trained at the New Zealand National School of Drama and Victoria University, Wellington. His work on stage and screen interrogates memory, nostalgia, dislocation and loss through the lens of the diaspora, and includes trailblazing works for the South Asian community, international arts festivals, participatory installations and musicals. He has worked worldwide with numerous notable theatre companies, including Tara Arts, Silo Theatre, the Auckland Theatre Company, Native Earth (Canada) and Belvoir, and at the Planet Indigenous Festival.

He is the founder of Agaram Productions, an award-winning production house that champions alternative narratives and otherness, and he is a guest tutor at Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School (Wellington) and The Actors’ Program (Auckland). His awards include the Bruce Mason Playwrighting Award, the Excellence in Arts Leadership Award, numerous Auckland Theatre Awards and an Arts Foundation Laureate Award, the highest artistic accolade in New Zealand. He is currently developing a television series, Serenade.

Based in: Tamaki Makarau, New Zealand

Nadie Kammallaweera Older Radha Nadie Kammallaweera’s previous engagements with Belvoir include Counting and Cracking in 2019 and The Cherry Orchard last year. Her theatre credits elsewhere include Kalumali for the Stages Theatre Group, Colombo; The House of Bernada Alba (directed by Priyantha Sirikumara), Blood Wedding (directed by Kaushalya Fernando), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Distortion at the Somalatha Subasinghe Playhouse, Colombo; and Mother Courage and Her Children, directed by Somalatha Subasinghe. Her television credits include The Young Pope for HBO, Bedde Kulawamiya, Sansaare Piyasatahan, Wakefield for ABC, and Bump for Stan Australia. Her films include Ashoka Handagama This is My Moon, Prasanna Vithanage’s August Sun, Visakesa Chandrasekaram’s Paanghu, Malith Hegoda’s A Strange Familiar and Fabrizio Costa’s Mother Teresa. Her awards in Sri Lanka include being named Best Supporting Actress in a Movie 2021, Best Teledrama Actress in 2018, Best Upcoming Actress in 2004, the Special Jury Award for Acting in 2004 and Best Supporting Actress in 2003.

Based in: Colombo, Sri Lanka

Abbie-Lee Lewis Lily and others Abbie-Lee Lewis is a Kalkadoon woman who trained in the Aboriginal Theatre and 3 year Acting courses at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Perth.

Her credits include Seanna Van Helten’s Fallen, directed by Penny Harpham, for Sport for Jove; Our Town, directed by Clare Watson, for the Black Swan State Theatre Company; a national tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (as Hermia) for Bell Shakespeare; and Angus Cerini’s The Bleeding Tree, directed by Ian Michael at the Blue Room Theatre, Perth. Her television credits include Black Comedy for ABC. In recent years she has also worked as an assistant director, collaborating with Peter Evans on Hamlet for Bell Shakespeare and with Jena Prince on Charlie Pilgrim for the Australian Theatre for Young People. This year she has joined the team at Belvoir as the Andrew Cameron Fellow and will make her directing debut with Bruce Pasco’s Cutter and Coot for the Moogahlin Performing Arts, NSW. Based in: Kalkatungu country, Australia

Gandhi MacIntyre Priest, Kadalai Karan and others Gandhi MacIntyre started acting with the Methodist Drama Society and the Lionel Wendt Theatre, Colombo.

He subsequently trained at Drama Studio London before migrating to Australia. His stage credits include The Pearl Fishers and Madama Butterfly for Opera Australia; Let’s Give Them Curry at the Canberra National Multicultural Festival; Rasanayagam’s Last Riot at the Ralph Wilson Theatre, Canberra; The UN Inspector is a Sri Lankan at the Lionel Wendt Theatre; and Irangani at the Belconnen Theatre, Canberra. His numerous Australian film and television credits include Babe, Fat Pizza, Embassy and Heroes. He is the official representative and auditioner in Australia for Drama Studio London, and has taught at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, the University of Western Sydney and the Australian Theatre for Young People.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Shiv Palekar Siddhartha and others Shiv Palekar was born in India and raised in Hong Kong, and is now based in Sydney, where he trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. His stage appearances include Disgraced, The Real Thing and The Beauty Queen of Leenane (for which he was nominated for the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor) for the Sydney Theatre Company; The Almighty Sometimes for the Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney; Counting and Cracking for Belvoir (for which he was nominated for the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Actor); and national tours of The Merchant of Venice and The Players for Bell Shakespeare. Last year he made his feature film debut in The Greenhouse. He is an associate artist and founder member of the Corinthian Food Store Collective theatre ensemble, with which he has starred as Lester in This, This is Mine.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Nipuni Sharada Young Nihinsa Nipuni Sharada Pathirage is a Sri Lankan actor and a lecturer in drama and theatre at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, where she graduated with the Gold Medal in 2017. She has won several awards, including Best Actress at the 2021 State Theatre Festival, Sri Lanka. Recently she played the female lead in Antique Kadayaka Maranayak, directed by Ashoka Handagama.

Based in: Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Sukhbir Singh Walia Hasanga and others Sunny S. Walia is an Indian–Australian actor who has worked extensively in television, film and theatre. He was an infantryman in the Australian Army Reserves and studied security and counter-terrorism as part of a degree in social science at Swinburne University, Melbourne. Then in 2015 he took an acting class and went on to train at Brave Studios and the Australian Film and Television Academy, where his teachers included Colin Budds, Declan Eames and Scott Major. In 2020 he won the prestigious Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Pitch Competition out of 466 submissions from throughout Australia.

Recently he has started writing with the aim of directing his own work. He is fluent in Punjabi and Hindi.

Based in: Melbourne, Australia and India

Vaishnavi Suryaprakash Young Radha Vaishnavi Suryaprakash is an actor, dancer and emerging writer. She completed her training at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney in 2017 and also holds an Arts/ Law degree from Sydney University. Her theatre credits include Counting and Cracking, Life of Galileo and Sami in Paradise for Belvoir; Grand Horizons, White Pearl and Julius Caesar (as understudy) for the Sydney Theatre Company; What the Ocean Said at the Sydney Opera House; Moby Dick for Sport for Jove; and Pramkicker for Vox Theatre. Her television credits include Wakefield for ABC, Pieces of Her for Netflix and The Secrets She Keeps for Lingo Pictures.

She also appeared in the short films Pass the Parcel and Stories of Kannagi, which won the 2021 Blake Art Prize.

Vaishnavi won the Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play for her performance in Counting and Cracking. She is currently a literary associate at Belvoir, and was selected for this year’s AFTRS (Australian Film Television and Radio School) Writing Talent Camp.

Rajan Velu Fundraiser, Bala, Maithri and others Rajan Velu trained at Actors Centre Australia, Sydney, and has worked extensively in theatre, television and film in Australia and the USA. His theatre credits include Norm and Ahmed for Australian Theatre Live; Counting and Cracking and Life of Galileo for Belvoir; The Last Highway for Urban Theatre Projects; The Drum at Sydney Opera House; Friends in Transient Places for Fresh Produce’d LA, Los Angeles; and The Changeling and Henry V for the Independent Shakespeare Company, Los Angeles. His film credits include This Little Love of Mine, Eat Spirit Eat, Honeyglue and the short film Bug, presented at festivals this year. His television credits include Criminal Minds — Beyond Borders, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Scandal, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, All Saints, Doctor Doctor, RFDS: Royal Flying Doctor Service, Diary of an Uber Driver, Born to Spy and the recently completed mini-series Savage River, directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Kaivalya Suvarna Young Thirru and others Kaivalya (Kaivu) is a 2020 graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts. He was born in Mumbai, raised in Ngunnawal Country/Canberra and is currently based in Naarm/Melbourne. Counting and Cracking is Kaivu’s first production with Belvoir and second overall following Malthouse’s ‘Stay Woke’. Kaivu believes history and heritage are often invisible in our lives but nonetheless possess a silent, ubiquitous presence - until they make themselves known to us. This story, as vast and sweeping as family can be, explores just that and Kaivu is grateful to be part of telling it to you.

Based in: Melbourne, Australia

Sukania Venugopal Older Nishinsa, Aacha, Older Dhamayanthi and others Sukania Venugopal has worked in Malaysia and Singapore in theatre, film and television — including working with the late Yasmin Ahmad on the feature film Talentime — and co-directs and performs in dance dramas with the Temple of Fine Arts, Kuala Lumpur. She also performs in children’s theatre with The Jumping Jellybeans theatre company; has performed in musicals such as Oliver! for Philharmonic Theater and the film Puteri Gunung Ledang for Enfi nity; and is a pioneer performer with the Instant Café Theatre Company, Kuala Lumpur. In 2017 she won the Singapore Life Award for Best Supporting Role for her performance in Ghost Writers for The Necessary Stage (Singapore), and the Boh Cameroonian Award for Best Supporting Role for her performance in Language Archive for PH7 Productions (Malaysia). She performed in Counting and Cracking at the 2019 Sydney and Adelaide Festivals, and the following year performed in The Year of No Return with The Necessary Stage. This year her engagements have included Night Mother for PH7 Productions.

Based in: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kalieaswari Srinivasan Understudy Kalieaswari Srinivasan’s stage credits include Une pierre de patience, directed by Clara Bauer, at last year’s Les Francophonies Festival, Limoges; Counting and Cracking with Belvoir at the 2019 Adelaide Festival; The Prisoner, directed by Peter Brook and Marie Helene Estienne, at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris, and on tour in Europe and the USA; The Tempest at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord; On the Other Side — Concert for Piano and Silences, directed by Diego Pileggi at the Grotowski Institute, Wrocław; Land of Ashes and Diamonds for Indianostrum Théâtre at Le Petit Salle of Theatre du Soleil, Paris; Ki Raa Kulambu, directed by Rajiv Krishnan, presented in Tamil Nadu; and Kunti Karna, directed by Koumarane Valavane and performed in India and France. Her films include Dheepan, directed by Jacques Audiard, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2015; Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengalum, directed by Vasanth S. Sai; Biryani, directed by Jay Emmanuel, which she co-wrote; the short films Begum Parvathi, directed by Radhika Prasidhha, and Pablo Neruda, directed by Bagu; and Rettai Jadai, directed by Franziska Schönenberger and Jayakrishnan Subramanian. She appeared in two installations bridging theatre and fashion at BOZAR, Brussels: Figure Studies, directed by Andrew Ondrejcak, and Kabul to Bamako, directed by Clara Bauer.

Based in: Chennai, India

Harish Vijaya Understudy Haris Vijaya was born in India. Having studied both physical comedy and classical theatre, including training with Philippe Gaulier, he worked as an actor, musician and stage manager with several theatre and contemporary dance ensembles. His recent work focuses on devised comedic performances based on discovering one’s own inner stupidity, and includes the solo works Supreme Blue and The Dancer Baker.

Based in: Chennai, India

Biman Kasun Wimaratne Understudy Biman is a highly versatile actor, acting/performance coach, and has been active in the Peoples Struggle for accountability and inclusivity in Sri Lanka. His theatre credits include He Comes from Jaffna, The Return of Ralahamy, and Jungle and the Sea (pre-production, Belvoir), which share themes with Counting and Cracking. His other theatre credits include The Pillowman, Importance of Going Wilde, Antony and Cleopatra, 12 Angry Men, Taming of the Shrew; and an adaptation of Vicky, Christina, Barcelona and a production of Glengarry Glen Ross by Emmy Award winner Gale Edward’s during his training at the Actors Centre, Australia. His musicals credits include The Great American Songbook and Divorce Me Darling! His film/ TV credits include Good Karma Hospital, Enigma Man: A Stone Age Mystery, and Wonderland. His short film credits include Red Mustang and Frank Calls. Biman is an engaging improv performer having done multiple works that capture human conflict, distress and dilemma. As a hobbyist, Biman has found it delightful to perform for stand-up comedy audiences in London. An emerging writer, he has completed his manuscript capturing a search for enlightenment across Sri Lanka, Australia, Europe and South America.

Based in: Colombo, Sri Lanka

MUSICIANS

Kranthi Kiran Mudigonda Kranthi Kiran Mudigonda is one of Australia’s leading Carnatic violinists. He trained in India under renowned teachers from the Dwaram and Parur traditions, he is currently undertaking advanced training from Pasur MA Sundareswaran, and for the past 20 years has been performing Carnatic classical music throughout India, Australia and New Zealand. Equally adept at singing and playing the South Indian percussion instruments Mridangam, Kanjira, Ghatam (clay pot) and Morsing (Indian Jew’s harp), he has participated in cross-genre collaborative projects and has provided violin accompaniment for numerous dance recitals and music concerts at prestigious venues in India and Australia. He performed in Counting and Cracking at the 2019 Sydney Festival.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

CREATIVES

Janakan Suthanthiraraj Janakan Suthanthiraraj is a Sri Lankan artist with a background in Carnatic music and over 20 years’ experience as a performing artist in Australia and abroad.

He was introduced to Carnatic music by his father and Guru, Sri R.Suthanthiraraj, and subsequently trained under Mridanga Virtuoso Sri Ravi M. Ravichandhira. He currently studies under the guidance of ‘Nada Oli’ Melakaveri Sri K. Balaji. He composed the opening number for the 2010 Sydney Peace Prize Awards, held at the Sydney Opera House; produced the music for Rasalayam, a neo-classical Bharatanatya production at the Rasana School of Aesthetic Arts, in 2016; and performed in Counting and Cracking at the 2019 Sydney Festival. He is a co-founder of the Sydneybased band Eastern Empire, with which he has performed at numerous festivals, including Parramasala in 2015 and the 2017 Sydney Festival. He currently teaches at the Ghana Layam Music Academy, Sydney, which was founded by his father.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

S. Shakthidharan Writer / Associate Director S. Shakthidharan is a western Sydney storyteller, writer, director, and composer of Sri Lankan heritage and Tamil ancestry. Counting and Cracking, his debut play, was presented at the 2019 Sydney and Adelaide Festivals and won the Victorian Premier’s Literature Prize and the NSW Premier’s Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting; the production has also won seven Helpmann and three Sydney Theatre Awards. His recent and current projects include writing and directing 宿 (stay) at this year’s Sydney Festival; adapting Zana Fraillon’s The Bone Sparrow for Pilot Theatre, which toured the UK; several plays in development with Belvoir, a feature film in development with Felix Media, and a new television project. He is Director of the production company Kurinji and an artistic consultant of Co-Curious, a sister to community arts company CuriousWorks, which Shakthi founded in 2003 and of which he was Artistic Director until 2018. He was the inaugural Associate Artist at the Carriageworks arts centre, Sydney, and received the Phillip Parsons and Kirk Robson Awards.

Based in Sydney, Australia

Venkhatesh Sritharan Venkhatesh Sritharan was born into a musical family: his mother, Sangeetha Vidwan Varalakshmi Sritharan, is wellknown as a Veena artist in Sri Lanka and Australia. He started learning the flute with Sri Suthanthiraraj at the age of five and subsequently also studied with Ramani Thiagarajan in Chennai. As one of Sydney’s leading Carnatic flautists, he plays numerous instruments, including the Tabla, the piano and the Veena, and is a classical vocalist: he has accompanied dance, ballet and arangetrams, and various cross-genre projects, including Counting and Cracking at the 2019 Sydney Festival. He is also a member of the band Eastern Empire.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Eamon Flack Director / Associate Writer Eamon Flack grew up in Singapore, Darwin and Brisbane.

He studied at the University of Queensland (Brisbane) and subsequently trained as an actor at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (Perth). Since 2003 he has worked as a director, writer, actor and dramaturg throughout Australia and internationally. He has been the Artistic Director of Belvoir since 2016, and his directing credits include Counting and Cracking, Angels in America, The Glass Menagerie, Packer and Sons, Ghosts, Ivanov, Babyteeth, Life of Galileo, As You Like It, The Rover, Twelfth Night and The Blind Giant is Dancing. His adaptations include Chekhov’s Ivanov and The Cherry Orchard, Gorky’s Summerfolk, Sophocles’ Antigone and Ibsen’s Ghosts.

Ivanov won four Sydney Theatre Awards, including Best Mainstage Production and Best Direction. The Glass Menagerie and Angels in America won Helpmann Awards for Best Play. Counting and Cracking won Helpmann Awards for Best Play, Best Direction and Best New Work; the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards; and the Victorian Literary Prize and the Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama. His other credits include coadapting Ruby Langford Ginibi’s memoir Don’t Take Your Love to Town with Leah Purcell, and co-devising Beautiful One Day with artists from the ILBIJERRI theatre company, version 1.0 and the community of Palm Island.

Based in Sydney, Australia

Anandavalli Costume and Cultural Adviser / Choreographer Born in Sri Lanka, Anandavalli enjoyed a 45-year international career as a dancer, taught and nurtured by the foremost gurus in the fields of Bharatha Natyam and Kuchipudi. After migrating to Australia, she founded the Lingalayam Dance Academy in 1987 and the Lingalayam Dance Company in 1996; the latter has collaborated with many renowned national and international artists.

Anandavalli has built a varied repertoire of original productions centred on the theme of ‘woman’. In 1989 she was presented on stage with Australian citizenship in recognition of her contribution to the arts in Australia. In 2002 she was awarded a Fellowship by the Dance Board of the Australia Council for the Arts. In 2007 she was awarded the title of Kala Seva Bharathi from the Bharat Kalachar institution in Chennai, India, and in 2019 the ‘Natya Acharya Mani — Lifetime Achievement Award, from Apsaras Arts, Singapore, in recognition of her services to the arts.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Damien Cooper Lighting Designer Damien Cooper designs lighting for dance, theatre, opera and film. His credits for Belvoir include Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, Wayside Bride, Things I Know To Be True, Counting and Cracking, Mark Colvin’s Kidney, The Dog/The Cat, Radiance, The Glass Menagerie (for which he won the Australian Production Designers Guild Award for Best Lighting Design), Coranderrk, Miss Julie, Stories I Want to Tell You in Person, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Peter Pan, Private Lives, Conversation Piece, Strange Interlude, Neighbourhood Watch, The Seagull, Gethsemane, Keating!, Toy Symphony, Peribanez, Stuff Happens, The Chairs, The Spook, In Our Name, The Underpants, The Sugar House, A Taste of Honey, The Ham Funeral and Exit the King (with Malthouse Theatre, and on Broadway). His credits elsewhere include numerous productions by Sydney Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre (Brisbane), the Melbourne Theatre Company and Ensemble Theatre (Sydney), and at the Adelaide Festival. He has also designed the lighting for more than 150 opera, ballet and dance productions, and won the Australian Production Designers Guild Awards for Best Lighting Design for Der Ring des Nibelungen with Opera Australia. His other awards include three Sydney Theatre Awards and three Green Room Awards.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Dale Ferguson Set and Costume Designer Dale Ferguson has designed numerous productions for Belvoir, including Sami in Paradise, The Blind Giant is Dancing, Radiance, Brothers Wreck, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Neighbourhood Watch, The Seagull, Measure for Measure, The Power of Yes, Antigone, Exit the King, Peribanez and The Judas Kiss (in Toronto and the West End, and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music).

His credits elsewhere include Away and Les Liaisons Dangereuses for Sydney Theatre Company; August: Osage County, An Ideal Husband, The Weir, The Speechmaker, The Crucible, Top Girls, The Drowsy Chaperon and Come Rain or Come Shine for the Melbourne Theatre Company; Dance of Death, Night on Bald Mountain and Because the Night for Malthouse Theatre; ‘Stay’ for Sydney Festival; Die Zauberflöte for Lyric Opera of Chicago; A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Houston Grand Opera and Canadian Opera; Otello for Cape Town Opera; Ariadne auf Naxos for Welsh National Opera; and Anything Goes, The Marriage of Figaro and Eugene Onegin for Opera Australia. He received Helpmann Awards for his designs for Counting and Cracking and August: Osage County and was nominated for Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Exit the King for Belvoir on Broadway.

Based in: Melbourne, Australia

Stefan Gregory Composer / Sound Designer Stefan Gregory graduated in pure mathematics at the University of Sydney and also studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He was a member of the band Faker (2004–09), which went platinum with ‘This Heart Attack’ and was nominated for several ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Awards. Now a composer and sound designer for theatre, dance and film, his recent productions include The Dig for Netflix, Medea at the Brooklyn Academy of Music; Yerma at the Young Vic, London; Medea, Ibsen House and Husbands and Wives for Toneelgroep, Amsterdam; Three Sisters, Angels in America and Medea for Theatre Basel; La trilogie de la vengeance and Three Sisters at L’Odéon, Paris; Avalanche at the Barbican, London; There Is Definitely a Prince Involved for Australian Ballet; L’Chaim for Sydney Dance Company; Wonangatta, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui for Sydney Theatre Company; The Present on Broadway; and The Wild Duck and Thyestes for Belvoir. He has worked with many leading directors and choreographers; has won two Sydney Theatre Awards, the OBIE Award and the Helpmann Award; and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Tim Dashwood Fight Director Tim Dashwood trained at the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba. His stage credits as fight director include The Life of Galileo for Belvoir; Julius Caesar, Death of a Salesman, No Pay? No Way! and Lord of the Flies for Sydney Theatre Company; Fantastic Mr Fox, Jane Eyre and George’s Marvellous Medicine for the Shake & Stir Theatre Company; The Removalists at the New Theatre, Sydney; Ulster American for the Outhouse Theatre Company, Sydney; Cyprus Avenue for Empress Theatre, Sydney; Les Misérables for Packemin Productions; Rose Riot, A Servant of Two Masters, Measure for Measure and Fallen for Sport for Jove; Intersections: Arrival and War Crimes for Australian Theatre for Young People; and Whiteley, West Side Story on Sydney Harbour, Krol Roger and Faust for Opera Australia. His acting credits include The Graduate for Kay & McLean Productions; Richard III for Bell Shakespeare; Fantastic Mr Fox, Animal Farm, Dracula, Wuthering Heights and George’s Marvellous Medicine for the Shake & Stir Theatre Company; Deathtrap for the Darlinghurst Theatre Company; Managing Carmen, The Odd Couple, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Rabbithole, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Exception and the Rule for the Queensland Theatre Company; Packed for The Escapists; and The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay at La Boite, Brisbane. He is President of the Society of Australian Fight Directors incorporated.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Nigel Poulton Fight Director Nigel Poulton is an award-winning fight, movement, and intimacy director, a stunt performer and an actor. His stage credits include The Rep Season, At What Cost?, Stop Girl, Cursed!, Packer and Sons, Things I Know To Be True, The Dance of Death, Sami in Paradise, The Sugar House, A Taste of Honey, Scorched and Prize Fighter for Belvoir; Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, The Miser, Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet and Richard III for Bell Shakespeare; numerous productions by Sydney Theatre Company; Triple X and Hydra for Queensland Theatre; Jasper Jones and Noises Off for Queensland Theatre and the Melbourne Theatre Company; Spartacus for Australian Ballet; Romeo and Juliet for New York City Ballet; Faust, Carmen, Tosca, La bohème, Krol Roger, and Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci for Opera Australia; and Don Giovanni, Carmen and Il trovatore for the Metropolitan Opera, New York. His film and television credits include Pirates of the Caribbean V, Deadline Gallipoli, The Water Diviner, The Bourne Legacy, Vikingdom, The Good Wife and Boardwalk Empire. He was the intimacy co-ordinator for the online series Ding Dong, I’m Gay and the feature film Spiderhead.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Laura Farrell Voice Coach Laura Farrell trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Sydney, and the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, where she studied Voice and Music Theatre.

She currently lectures at NIDA and has also taught on numerous actor training programmes in Sydney, including NIDA’s Diploma of Stage and Screen and Diploma of Music Theatre, Actors Pulse, the Sydney Acting Studio, Actors Centre Australia and the University of Wollongong. Her recent credits as a vocal coach include F*** It Bucket, directed by Alyssa McClelland, for LeftBank Productions UK; Reluctant Sea Shanty, directed by Kyra Bartley, for the UNHCR; Picnic At Hanging Rock, directed by Claudia Osbourne, and Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., directed by Heather Fairbairn, at NIDA; Paper Stars, directed by Miranda Middleton, for Salty Theatre; and This Genuine Moment, directed by Hayden Tonnazzi, at La Mama, Melbourne and The Old 505 Theatre, Sydney.

Based in: Sydney, Australia

Amy Hume Voice Coach Amy Hume is a voice and dialect coach for theatre and screen, and Lecturer in Voice at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, having previously taught at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney (2015–19). Her recent theatre credits include Fangirls and Sami in Paradise for Belvoir; The Sound Inside, Fun Home and Cyrano for the Melbourne Theatre Company; An American in Paris for Australian Ballet; Six the Musical Australia; Billy Elliot Australia for LWAA; White Pearl for the Sydney Theatre Company; and Merrily We Roll Along for the Hayes Theatre Company, Sydney. Her recent coaching credits for the screen include Bad Behaviour, New Gold Mountain and The Secrets She Keeps. She also facilitates voice training for individuals and organizations in a variety of industries, recently working with the Parliament of New South Wales, the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the New South Wales Department of Education. She is a designated Linklater teacher and serves on the Board of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association, the international organization for voice and dialect practitioners.

Based in: Melbourne, Australia

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Counting and Cracking is dedicated to Lingamani Rajarayan (1933 –2018), affectionately known to me as ‘Chinni’. Chinni was the first person in my family to open up to me about Sri Lanka. We sat in her kitchen in London and over several days of Scrabble and curry she talked and I listened. Her spirit is woven into the fabric of this story.

My only disappointment in the making of this work is that Chinni is not here to see it.

Counting and Cracking features direct quotes from a diverse array of people: Sri Lankan politician (and mathematician) C. Suntharalingam (with the permission of his family), Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge (with the permission of his brother Lal), Yolngu women and artists (and dear friends) Rosealee Pearson and Rarriwuy Hick (with the permission of their families), and my mother Anandavalli. Counting and Cracking is a work of fiction and there is no intention for any of its characters to represent or reference anyone in real life. Nevertheless, real life has occasionally worked its way into the story, as it almost always does.

Anjalendran is an architect and my grand aunt’s son. We sat at his dining table in the first house he built — his own home, in Colombo. Over lamprais and Chindian takeaway we read aloud my greatgrandfather’s public articles and private letters. These were bold and confronting missives.

Anjalendran’s resulting frank and honest thoughts on our troubled history did not diminish his pride or sense of belonging to Sri Lanka. I continue to be inspired by his fearless approach to a truthful reconciliation with our past.

Anushya took my wife and me to Jaffna before my mother was ready to go back there. To go to Jaffna for the first time is like an exhalation. There is an impossible amount of expectation before your arrival, and then a slow release as you cross over to the peninsula. You witness a region that is rebuilding and reimagining itself, and amidst all that you glimpse the remains of the life that your family once had, long ago. The temple they once helped build and now only donate to. Their old home with its new occupiers. It was on this trip that I first started to understand our ancestral homeland and the fullness of the Sri Lankan picture.

Anushya guided us through this complexity with endless patience and a quiet, deep intelligence.

My mother did not talk to me about Sri Lanka in any deep way for the first thirty odd years of my life. She had closed her heart to the country. She has witnessed the development of this work, been a quiet presence for many of the research conversations and attended each of the readings and showings. The process of making this work has changed her. She is reconciling with her homeland and has started talking about Ceylon again. In doing so, she has made the choice to be vulnerable. I am grateful for that. It is the hard choice, but we are immeasurably better for it, as artistic collaborators on this project, and as mother and son.

My wife Aimée is the only other person who has known about this play since the beginning. She has seen it as a series of placards pasted up on the wall of a little hut in Tasmania. She has seen all the alternate versions that no one else will ever see. She knew what this work could be before I did. It is through her I found the confidence to write a story like this.

There are many other people who can’t be mentioned publicly — people who would be labelled things like bureaucrats or prisoners, but who spoke to me with a sense of shared humanity across all of society, no matter their individual position. These people shared at length their most private thoughts and I can only hope that I have adequately honoured their generosity with this story.

A number of unusual and unlikely opportunities were strung together to make writing a work like this a possibility. The years of research and the first scenes were supported through an Australia Council for the Arts Young Artists Initiative grant in 2008 — an opportunity that is no longer available. The first drafts were written during my time as Associate Artist at Carriageworks, where absolutely no restrictions were put on what I might do with my time there, from 2013–2015. But the infrastructure of an independent artist alone cannot support a work of this size. Since 2011 Counting and Cracking has been shepherded by CuriousWorks and Co-Curious, forming a part of their program. It is a long time to have a work in development — but without that kind of longevity, works like this simply cannot happen. Since 2013 Eamon Flack and the Belvoir team have done everything in their power to make this story reach our mainstage. Eamon did not try to change this work to fit into pre-existing structures.

Instead, he took a leap of faith to make something new, in a new way. We have made this work together. © S. Shakthidharan

Part of the UK/Australia Season 2021–22, a joint initiative of the British Council and Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, supported by the Australian Government and the British Council.

The 2022 UK tour is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW, the Australian Government’s International Cultural Arts Development Fund, Sam Meers AO, David Gonski AC & Dr Orli Wargon OAM, Simon Mordant AO & Catriona Mordant AM. The Executive Producer is Sue Donnelly.

Originally co-produced by Belvoir with Co-Curious, and developed with the support of CuriousWorks.

The original production was co-commissioned by Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc, Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival and Belvoir.

Original Production Thanks Ruwanthie de Chickera, Atul Kumar, Jay Emmanuel, Nedra Rodrigo, Roysten Abel, Dilip Shankar, Abilash Pillai, Menaka Rodriguez, Amrit Gill, Pravin KP, Deepa Rajkumar, Charmaine Moldrich, Sujan Selvan, Jegan Suther Karansan, Calis Xavier, Nimalan Karthikeyan, Lal Wickrematunge, Skandakumar Somasundaram, Suzanne Pereira, Giles Gunesekera and Global Impact Initiative, Kavitha Suthanthiraraj, Kavita Balendra, Pradheep, Vaishnavi and Malavika Pasupati, Raja Banda, Lisa Havilah, Lisa French and Carriageworks, Chris Mead and Melbourne Theatre Company, Playwriting Australia, Bundanon Trust, Dennis Archer, Jack Berry, Mark Drew, Brent Laing, Emily Polson, Alice Richter- Ward, Bash Borne, Louise Gough, Wesley Enoch, Neil Armfield, Rachel Healy, Hema Singh Rance, Nicholas Brown, Ghafir Akbar, Deda Abdullah, Academy Administrator, The Actor’s Studio at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Govin Ruben, Edith Podesta, Kok Heng Leun, Drama Box Theatre, Singapore, Stephanie Gorin, Lynn McQueen, Felicity Davidson, Marcus Youssef, New World Theatre, Serena Hill, Stephen Armstrong, C. Anjalendran, The Coomaraswamy Family, Kulasegaram Sanchayan, Arumugaiyer, Rukmini De Silva, Mahesh Radhakrishnan, Shekhar Kapur, Jerome De Silva, Nikhila Kesavan, Gowrie Ponniah, Ahilan Ratnamohan, Tracy Holsinger, Sam Prince, Bec Allen, Tahni Froudist, Luke Cowling, Brenna Hobson, STC, Chris Mercer, James McKay, Gregsets, Wildsets, Christopher Baldwin, Alex Rothnie, Isabel Hudson, Chloe Greaves, Sri Ganesh Selections, Chameleon Touring Systems, Claire Westwood, Rebecca Romans, The Gamechangers, Gareth Simmonds, Aaron Beach, the 40+ actors who have read and workshopped the play at some stage or other.

Tailoring: Sundari Silks (Chennai, India), House of Lydia (Chennai, India), Kasun Sameera (Galle, Sri Lanka), Ananya (Chennai, India), Lagan (Chennai, India), Jahe Weavers (Batticaloa, Sri Lanka).

BELVOIR Belvoir St Theatre, formerly known as Company B, is one of Australia’s most celebrated theatre companies.

Since 1984, when a group of 600 theatre-lovers came together to save a theatre under threat of redevelopment, Belvoir St Theatre has been at the forefront of Australian storytelling for the stage, and from its foundation has been committed to Indigenous stories. At its home in a former factory on Gadigal land in Surry Hills, Sydney, Belvoir presents an annual season in which new work and new stories sit alongside a variety of reinvented classics and international writing. It also regularly tours nationally and internationally. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Eamon Flack and Executive Director Aaron Beach, Belvoir collaborates with Australia’s most prominent and promising theatremakers. Its major productions include Counting and Cracking, The Wild Duck, FANGIRLS!, Cloudstreet, Barbara and the Camp Dogs, The Drover’s Wife, The Glass Menagerie, Angels in America, Keating! and The Sapphires. Belvoir receives government support for its activities from the Federal Government through the Australia Council, and the State Government through Create NSW.

FOR BIRMINGHAM REP The Board Atif Ali BEM Andrew Chiduku Councillor Jayne Francis Michael Hibbs John Hornby Liz James Ayub Khan MBE Adrian Lester CBE Victoria Marsom David Meecham Sir Howard Panter (chair) Brandon Relph Professor David Roberts Rachel Roussel-Tyson Jan Teo Executive Director Rachael Thomas Artistic Director Sean Foley Associate Directors Madeleine Kludje Iqbal Khan Executive Producer Chloe Naldrett Producer Jonathan Brindley Assistant Producer Lucy Thompson Resident Assistant Director Alice Chambers Commercial Director Suzanna Reid Barreiro da Silva Directors of Audiences and Media Erin McDonald Sarah Jervis-Hill Head of Marketing Richard Leigh Head of Strategic Comms Ben Wooldridge Senior Marketing Officer Becky Oldham Marketing Officer Faith Dias Neto Marketing and Communications Assistant Aarushi Rana

Director of People and Operations Julia Layland

Lead Scenic Constructor Janine Forster

Theatre Administration Manager Tracey Wainwright

Lead Scenic Artist Laura O’Connell

Senior Administration Officer Molly Taylor

Head of Sound and AV Jonathan Pearce

Theatre Administration Assistant Phoebe Cooke

Deputy Head of Sound James Woodcock

Kickstart HR and Recruitment Assistant Jay Sharpe

Senior Sound Technician Steven Choma

Finance Director Anne Russell Finance Manager David Johnson Finance Officers Jeanette Davey Remel Ferguson Claire Monk Athina Tzani Director of Creative Learning Alexander Summers Head of Education Bhavik Parmar Young Rep Director (Interim) Rebecca Deeks Creative Learning Administrator Hilan Gully Senior Drama Practitioner Becky Reidy Drama Practitioners Robert Beck Natalie Hart Lightpost Lead Artist Carguil Webley Technical Manager Adrian Bradley Head of Production Suzy Somerville Company Manager Elizah Jackson Head of Scenic Workshops Margaret Rees

Dressers Roanne Bray Head of Lighting Alex Bosworth Senior Lighting Technician Joanne Marshall Lighting Technician Joe Ralph Head of Stage Rosie Williams Senior Stage Technician Oliver Hodge Stage Technicians Chris Moss Charlotte Dodd Building Maintenance Technician Andrew Leon Gatenby Technician Jeanette Maggs Head of Costume Kay Wilton Senior Wardrobe Technician Wendy Anne Hart Wardrobe Assistant Leanne Taylor Richards Beth Edgar Head of Technical Design Simon Fox Production Coordinator Emily Hewlett Producing Coordinator Petra Jagusic

Production Assistant Emily Taylor

Imaani Phillips Jade Senior

Theatre Operations Manager Nigel Cairns

Theatre & Sales Assistants Alexander Brown Joe Kennard Ilana Gelbart Somayya Sheikh Rosalie Smith Fiona Yamamoto

Stage Door Receptionists Michael Peters Brandon Hinds Anastasija Koneva Theatre Housekeeper Jane Browning Theatre Cleaning Assistants Fay Gayle Tracy O’Dell Beverley Shale Agent for Change Bethany Steventon-Crinks Head of Fundraising Rachel Cranny Trust and Foundations Manager Ruth Harvey Fundraising Officer Katy McKeever Fundraising Assistant Naomi Bennett Head of Theatre and Sales Gerard Swift Theatre and Sales Manager Hannah Kelly Box Office Manager (Maternity Cover) Sarah Walker Assistant Theatre Managers Reme McAlister-Willie

Theatre Assistants Alice Cheer Taykara Clarke-Harris Jenny Coombs Guy Devine William Hammond Elizabeth Hayward George Holmes Gary Hopkins Jodie Ind Gurpreet Kaur Bethany Millns Eric Mok Huhibb Nazir Hamza Rehman Urska Rozman Kanas Wong Lok Yi Wong Bar and Café Manager David Eden-Sangwell Café Bar Supervisors Callan Johnson Mervi Raja Samantha Richardson Emile Thompson Café Bar Team Arrahnne Allen Florian Bichler Iulia Bularca Stephanie Carter Femi Cooper Clarke

Martin Collins Emily Colwill Samuel Fisher Bethany Henshaw Graham MacDonnell Gyuner Mazrek Charlotte Osborne Kishan Patel Ana Patrycja Sarzyniak Chef Manager Andrew Riley Chef Dario Pinho With thanks to all our Casual Staff and Volunteers.

COMING SOON FRI 14 OCT – SAT 5 NOV

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Written by BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning writers, Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto, this reimagined Brummie comedy is not to be missed.

SAT 19 NOV – SAT 7 JAN

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NATIVITY is returning to The Rep this Christmas!

Feel-good, funny and full of joy, this cracker of a musical was adapted for the stage by Debbie Isitt, the creator of the much-loved films.

BOOK NOW: 0121 236 4455 birmingham-rep.co.uk

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