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We are thrilled to announce a special event in partnership with Belvoir St Theatre as part of our Salon Series. Join us for an intimate conversation with Counting and Cracking’s acclaimed playwright Shakthi and his mother, Choreographer, Costume and Cultural Consultant, Anandavalli, in conversation with TWC member Angela Bowne.
Together Shakthi and Anandavalli will unpack the acclaimed play Counting and Cracking, currently captivating audiences at Carriageworks in Sydney on the eve of its journey to New York. The conversation will delve into their personal and cultural interactions, and into the play's bigger themes including Sri Lanka's political history, migration, diaspora, and family dynamics. Additionally, you'll learn about Anandavalli's illustrious dance career as the choreographer and founder of Lingalayam Dance Academy and Company, which focuses on expressing the timeless and unique role of women and dance in society. Finally, Shakthi will share insights into his upcoming feature film, The Laugh of Lakshmi, a powerful and poignant story of a mother and son separated by war.
Tickets include a light dinner, allowing you to enjoy a meal while engaging with the conversation.
Speaker Biographies
Anandavalli – Choreographer, Costume and Cultural Consultant. She is a veteran classical Indian dancer with an international career spanning over 45 years. Born in Sri Lanka, she performed as a young prodigy across India and Europe under the tutelage of dance luminaries from both the East and the West.
In 1985 she migrated to Australia and founded the Lingalayam Dance Academy and Company. Lingalayam’s work incorporates dance, live music, text and design. The company’s central focus is to express the timeless, unique role of women and dance in our society.
Anandavalli is deeply committed to advancing the course of Indian dance as well as the broader scope of artistic development in Australia. Through a series of innovative, national and international collaborative partnerships, today Lingalayam’s choreographic vocabulary far transcends the boundaries of its original performative paradigms, and presents contemporary work founded on its classical origins.
Anandavalli was the pivotal actor/dancer in the 2022 Belvoir Street Theatre & Lingalayam Dance Company’s 2022 co-production of the ‘The Jungle and The Sea’, which won four Sydney Theatre Awards, including Best Mainstage Production. She is the Cultural & Costume Advisor and Choreographer for the Belvoir and Co-curious, 7 Helpmann Award winning epic production of ‘Counting & Cracking’ since its inception.
S. Shakthidharan is a western Sydney storyteller with Sri Lankan heritage and Tamil ancestry. He’s a writer, director and producer of theatre and film, and composer of original music. Belvoir: The Jungle and the Sea (Co-written with Eamon Flack) and Counting and Cracking (Associate Writer Eamon Flack). His other theatre credits include Zana Fraillon’s The Bone Sparrow (Pilot Theatre, York UK), 宿Stay (Sydney Festival); and has in development a new play with Belvoir, as well as a co-commission with the MTC and STC, his first novel, a feature film with Felix Media and a new TV project. His debut play Counting and Cracking received critical, commercial and community acclaim. The script won the Victorian Premier’s Literature Prize and the NSW Premier’s Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting; the production won 7 Helpmann and 3 Sydney Theatre Awards. Shakthi’s most recent play The Jungle and the Sea, again was met with rave reviews and had a profound impact on the Sri Lankan community. It recently won the 2024 Victorian Premier's Drama Prize and 4 Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Mainstage Production. Shakthi is the Director of Kurinji and previous to this was Founder/Artistic Lead of Co-Curious (2018-2022), sister company to CuriousWorks where he was Founder and Artistic Director (2003-2018). Shakthi was the Carriageworks inaugural Associate Artist and is a recipient of both the Phillip Parson’s and Kirk Robson awards.
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