Belvoir’s Sri Lankan epic receives four Helpmann Awards

Counting and Cracking, a multi-generational play staged at Sydney and Adelaide Festivals, picked up four Helpmann Awards on Sunday including Best Direction of a Play.
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Eamon Flack and S. Shakthidharan pose with their Helpmann Award for Best Direction of a Play. Photo credit: Getty Images.

Belvoir’s multi-generational epic Counting & Cracking – a co-production with independent company Co-Curious – won four Helpmann Awards on Sunday night, including Best Direction of a Play for co-directors Eamon Flack and S. Shakthidharan.

Described as ‘an epic, exhilarating and deeply moving play’ by ArtsHub, Counting & Cracking utilises 16 actors, three musicians and six languages to tell a story that blends Sri Lankan history with the Australian migrant experience. Its success suggests a significant shift in the cultural landscape towards works which more accurately reflect contemporary, multicultural Australia.

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Richard Watts is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM, and serves as the Chair of La Mama Theatre's volunteer Committee of Management. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and was awarded the status of Melbourne Fringe Living Legend in 2017. In 2020 he was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. Most recently, Richard was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Green Room Awards Association in June 2021. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts