Following the ground-breaking international success of Counting and Cracking, creative powerhouses, S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack’s multi award-winning The Jungle and The Sea returns to Belvoir St Theatre from 11 July, before touring to the Canberra Theatre Centre from 6 August and MTC’s Southbank Theatre from 14 August 2026.
When violence escalates between the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Gowrie does everything she can to keep her family alive. She sends her husband and one daughter to Australia for safety. She takes her other two daughters to search through the jungles of northern Sri Lanka for her estranged son.
But how does a family come together again when the world around them is tearing itself apart? How is peace made? How can we honour the dead? 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.
“It’s very special to bring The Jungle and the Sea back to the stage. When we first made this work, it felt urgent; now, it feels even more prescient. The play speaks about family, displacement, grief and survival, and those themes continue to resonate deeply. To revisit this story with such an extraordinary group of artists is a privilege,” said Belvoir Artistic Director Eamon Flack.
“Counting and Cracking was written in honour of those who tried to halt Sri Lanka’s descent into civil war. The Jungle and the Sea is written in honour of those who lived through the war, and the ways they found to uphold their dignity even when everything else was falling down around them,” said S. Shakthidharan.
This epic work features a stellar cast including Bharatanatyam dancer and guru Anandavalli, alongside Prakash Belawadi, Emma Harvie, Nadie Kammallaweera, Shiv Palekar, Dushan Philips, Kalieaswari Srinivasan and Rajan Velu.
Co-produced by Kurinji and Lingalayam Dance Company, The Jungle and the Sea features music by Arjunan Puveendran, performed with Indu Balachandran, with set and costume designed by Dale Ferguson, lighting design by Damien Cooper and sound design by Steve Francis.
“A soaring achievement … carried by an extraordinary international ensemble.” – Limelight
The Jungle and the Sea
Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir Street, Surry Hills
Season: 11 July – 2 August 2026
Information and Bookings: www.belvoir.com.au
The Playhouse – Canberra Theatre Centre, Civic Square, Canberra
Season: 6 – 9 August 2026
Information and Bookings: www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au
Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Season: 14 August – 12 September 2026
Information and Bookings: www.mtc.com.au
Image: Anandavalli stars in The Jungle and the Sea – photo by Daniel Boud