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| Anandavalli as Gowri in "The Jungle to the Sea" |
Co-Written and Directed by S.Shakthidharan & Eamon Flack
Set & costume design by Dale Ferguson – Composed by
Arjunan Puveendran
Lighting design by Damien Cooper – Sound design by Steve
Francis
Performed by Anandavalli – Indu Balachandran – Emma Harvie –
Shiv Palekar – Dushan Philips – Nadie Kammallaweera – Arjunan Puveendran –
Aswin Selvanathan – Hari Sivanesan- Kalieaswari Srinivasan -Rajan Velu.
Musicians: Indu Balachandran – Arjunan Puveendran
A Belvoir Theatre Production with Kurinji and Lingalayam
Dance Companies.
Canberra Theatre Centre Playhouse 6th – 9th
August 2026.
Matinee Performance on 9th August reviewed by
BILL STEPHENS
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| The family set out on their trek Kalieaswari Srinivasan - Anandavalli - Nadie Kammallaweera - Prakash Belawadie - Emma Harvie - Najun Velu |
Over nearly three hours, including two intervals, this
engrossing epic production follows the experiences of a six-member Sri Lankan
Tamil family from 1995 to 2022, during and after the civil war in Sri Lanka.
Eight actors perform multiple roles, except for the
matriarch, Gowrie, portrayed by charismatic Bharatanatyam dancer Anandavalli.
The family’s religious beliefs vary. Gowrie is Hindu and her
husband is Christian. Their eldest daughter, Abi, is Hindu, second daughter,
Madhu is Christian and youngest daughter Lakshmi is an atheist. Their son
Ahiklan is Hindu.
The narrative moves back and forth in time, with simple
markers at the side of the stage, identifying each year.
When civil war shatters the family’s idyllic life and forces
them from their home, Abi leaves to study in Sydney and Ahiklan joins the
Tamils.
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Gowrie reacts by putting on a blindfold, vowing to wear it
until her children are reunited. She then sets out with Madhu and Lakshmi on a
dangerous search for safety.
What is most remarkable is how clearly and effectively this
complex story emerges with deceptively simple staging, as the actors share in seamlessly
portraying the many characters Gowrie and her daughters encounter on their arduous
journey.
Dale Ferguson’s starkly simple setting consisting of a
grimy, bullet-scarred wall surrounding a constantly revolving stage. A raised
platform to one side, accommodates the two musicians who create the music and sound
effects, which include bomb blasts and rifle fire.
It grows increasingly evocative with the addition of model
cars, trains, planes and even a miniature Harbour Bridge to signal shifts in
place, time and travel, while the actors bring on and remove the necessary
props.
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| The roadside wedding |
Damien Cooper’s lighting design is especially impressive in the beautiful roadside wedding and the harrowing massacre scenes.
“The Jungle and the Sea” is a powerful, engrossing
production which demonstrates the capacity of good theatre to illuminate human
experience through deceptively simple staging and exceptional performances.
Photos by Sriram Jeyaraman
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ART REVIEW
