Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – S. Shakthidharan’s rich family epic COUNTING AND CRACKING takes a panoramic view of a nation’s history

• By drediman
• September 13, 2024
• No Comments

This week at NYU Skirball, I had the chance to experience Belvoir St Theatre and Kurinji’s co-production of Counting and Cracking by S. Shakthidharan. The acclaimed panoramic work arrives in New York courtesy of The Public Theater and NYU Skirball after having enjoyed acclaimed runs in Sydney, Australia (where the production originated), as well as at the Edinburgh International Festival. Spanning multiple generations and featuring a whole host of richly-etched characters, the epic piece chronicles Sri Lanka’s contentious and violent history during the latter half of the 20th century, particularly through the lens of one family’s difficult emigration story to Australia.

Although the multi-generational play is undeniably sprawling — Counting and Cracking fittingly runs nearly three and a half hours (including two intermissions) — the piece is actually efficiently plotted and rather easy to follow, even with the multi-lingual aspects of the text (which have been skillfully and thoughtfully integrated throughout). At its core, the piece is a moving  story about love, family, and forgiveness — universal notions that ground the show and make the whole thing surprisingly approachable and easy to emotionally invest in. The fluidity and elegant simplicity of the staging by director Eamon Flack also contributes to the heartfelt storytelling. The end result is an ambitious yet moving family and political saga that functions as both illuminating history lesson, as well as powerful human drama.

Counting and Cracking is performed by a diverse, tight-knit group of 19 actors, most of whom are of South Asian descent. Although some actors are stronger than others (particularly compelling are Nadie Kammallaweera and Radhika Mudaliyar as the past and present incarnations of the central character Radha), there’s an incredibly strong sense of community that permeates the company. As such, there’s immense joy and pride that emanate from the work. It’s an infectious energy that injects charm and joy into the proceedings, beautifully balancing the play’s often grim subject matter. Last but not least, a small band of musicians provide fragrant live underscoring, sensitively channeling the emotional currents of the drama at hand.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

COUNTING AND CRACKING
Off-Broadway, Play
The Public Theater / NYU Skirball
3 hours, 20 minutes (with two intermissions)
Through September 22