Melbourne Theatre Company acknowledges the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work, create and gather. We pay our respects to all First Nations people, their Elders past and present, and their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. As a Company we remain committed to the invitation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its call for voice, truth and treaty.

S. Shakthidharan

Playwriting

S. Shakthidharan on The Jungle and the Sea

Drawn from real life testimonies, and woven with threads of the Mahabharatha and Antigone, this is the epic story of one family’s love, caught in the crosshairs of war.

S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack’s moving follow-up to the much-lauded Counting and Cracking follows one family’s epic journey to retain their dignity and their safety against the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s civil war.

Thinking prompts

Where and when is the play set?
What might be some of the big ideas explored in the play?
What do you notice about the set and costume design?
The music in this video, and played live in the show, is Carnatic music from the South Indian classical tradition. How might music be used in the storytelling?

A Belvoir St Theatre production