THE WRONG GODS

S. Shakthidharan

Shakthi 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). He has in development a new play with Belvoir and a co-commission with the Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company. He has a feature film with Felix Media and a new TV project also in development. 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 won the 2024 Victorian Premier’s Drama Prize and 4 Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Mainstage Production. Shakthi is the Director of Kurinji, was previously Director of Co-Curious, and was Founder and Artistic Director of CuriousWorks from 2003-2018. He is a Creative Australia and Sidney Myer Fellow, and a recipient of the Phillip Parson’s and Kirk Robson awards.

Hannah Goodwin

Hannah Goodwin (she/her) is a director who lives and works on Gadigal land. She is currently Resident Director at Belvoir Street Theatre. Her work includes Wayside Bride by Alana Valentine (Belvoir), Light Shining in Buckinghamshire by Caryl Churchill (Belvoir), The Sorry Mum Project by Pippa Ellams (National Theatre of Parramatta, Bondi Feast), A Girl in School Uniform (Walks into a Bar) by Lulu Raczka (Kings Cross Theatre), and The Carousel by Pippa Ellams (Shopfront Arts Co-op, Downstairs Belvoir, Merrigong X, Kings Cross Theatre). As assistant director: Black Brass by Mararo Wangai (Belvoir), Stop Girl by Sally Sara (Belvoir), My Brilliant Career by Kendall Feaver (Belvoir), Packer and Sons by Tommy Murphy (Belvoir), and Love by Patricia Cornelius (Darlinghurst Theatre Company).

Hannah was the 2020-2022 Andrew Cameron Fellow at Belvoir and the 2019 recipient of the ATYP Rose Byrne Leadership Scholarship.

Manali Datar

Manali Datar (she/her) is a Marathi multi-disciplinary artist. She lives and works on Wurundjeri and Gadigal land and acknowledges that sovereignty was never ceded. Manali last performed for Belvoir as ‘Edna’ in Fangirls at the Sydney Opera House. Other theatre credits include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 and 2 (Michael Cassel Group), Death of a Salesman (GWB), White Pearl (Sydney Theatre Company), Flat Earthers the Musical (Griffin Theatre/Hayes Theatre), Emilia (Essential Theatre/Arts Centre Melbourne) and Vivid White (Melbourne Theatre Company). Her work in television includes Gold Diggers for ABC and CBS Studios International. Also a musician and songwriter, Manali has released music both as a solo artist and as part of the duo ultrafine. Her debut single, temple, was also featured in Gold Diggers.

Nadie Kammallaweera

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Nadie Kammallaweera is a theatre, film, and television actor, writer, and translator. She has acted in stage plays, movies, and television dramas. Nadie’s recent work as an actor in Australia includes Counting and Cracking (2024), Jungle and the Sea (2022), Counting and Cracking (2019), Cherry Orchard (2021) by Belvoir Street Theatre, Wakefield (ABC TV Series), and Bump (Stan Australia TV Series). Her theatre credits elsewhere include Kalumali for the Stage Theatre Group Colombo; The House of Bernarda Alba, Blood Wedding, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Mother Courage and Her Children for Somalatha Subasinghe Play House Colombo. Her television credits overseas include The Young Pope for HBO, The New Pope for HBO, Bedde Kulawamiya for SLRC (Sri Lanka), and Sansasre Piyasatahan for ITN (Sri Lanka). Nadie’s feature films include Asoka Handagama’s This is My Moon, Prasanna Vithanage’s August Sun, Visakesa Chandrasekaram’s Pangshu, Malith Hegoda’s Strange Familiar, and Fabrizio Costa’s Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Some of the national-level awards Nadie has won in Sri Lanka are Best Supporting Actress in a Movie (2021), Best Actress in a Series (2018), Best Translation (Drama) of the Year (2005), Presidential Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role (2005), Best Upcoming Actress (Movie) (2004 and 2003), and the BUNKA Award of Recognition for Valuable Contribution to Sri Lankan Theatre. Nadie has co-written the screenplay Thaala (Sri Lankan Children’s Movie), and she is currently co-writing a screenplay with director Anura de Silva for Ashram Productions (Sri Lanka).

Nadie is currently based in Sydney.

Radhika Mudaliyar

Radhika Mudaliyar, a Sydney-based actor of Indian heritage, is a graduate of the renowned Bachelor of Arts in Acting program at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). Recently seen in Stan’s ‘Prosper,’ she is eagerly anticipated in Belvoir Theatre’s acclaimed production, ‘Counting and Cracking.’ Radhika will next be seen in the upcoming STAN original series ‘He Had it Coming’

Whilst at WAAPA, a few notable roles Radhika portrayed are; ‘Hermia’ in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ ‘Cleante’ in Moliere’s ‘Tartuffe,’ ‘Aarzu’ in Suzie Miller’s ‘Caress/Ache,’ and the titular role in Sophocles’ ‘Antigone.’

In 2023, Radhika was awarded the Best Actor prize at the Buddha International Film Festival for her role in ‘All is Well’ and was also named a finalist in the competitive Equity Neighbours Internship.

She earned the ‘Most Outstanding Actor’ award at the Vice Chancellor’s Shakespeare Awards for her original devised Bharathanatyam piece titled ‘A Nayika named Hamlet.’

Vaishnavi Suryaprakash

Vaishnavi is an actor, dramaturg and dancer. Born in India and raised in south-west Sydney, she graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting in 2017.

For Belvoir, Vaishnavi’s credits include Nayika: A Dancing Girl, Counting and Cracking (Sydney + UK Tour), Life of Galileo, and Sami in Paradise. Other theatre credits include Grand Horizons, White Pearl, and Julius Caesar for Sydney Theatre Company; What The Ocean Said for Sydney Opera House; Moby Dick for Sport for Jove; Pramkicker for Vox Theatre; and Blue Christmas at KXT for New Ghosts Theatre.

Vaishnavi’s screen credits include Wakefield (ABC), Pieces of Her (NETFLIX), The Secrets She Keeps (Lingo Pictures), and Appetite (SBS). Her short film credits include Pass the Parcel and Blake Prize winner Stories of Kannagi.

For her performance in Counting & Cracking, Vaishnavi received a Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role as “Young Radha”.

Vaishnavi also holds an Arts/Law degree from the University of Sydney, and received the Glorias Fellowship in 2022. She was a Literary Associate at Belvoir 2022-23, and a Literary Assistant at Royal Court Theatre, London in 2023. Vaishnavi resides in Sydney, Australia.

Keerthi Subramanyam

Keerthi is a Sydney based set and costume designer for live performance and film. Keerthi is a National Institute of Dramatic Art, BFA (Design for Performance, 2019) graduate, and a member of the Australian Production Design Guild.

Keerthi has designed set and costumes for Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner, Chewing Gum Dreams at the Old Fitz, Chop Chef at Riverside Theatres, and designed the costumes and was a set realiser on Belvoir’s At What Cost.

Keerthi has been an associate designer on a wide range of theatre shows including Sydney Theatre Company’s Grand Horizons, Belvoir’s Jungle and the Sea, Wayside Bride, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, Boomkak Panto, Cursed!, and Hayes Theatre Co’s Young Frankenstein. 

Keerthi has also worked as a props supervisor on Belvoir’s Into the Woods and Blessed Union. 

Keerthi’s film credits include working as a design assistant on Operation Buffalo, as production & costume designer on various short films and music videos and most recently as an art director on SBS’s mini series Appetite.  Keerthi is one of Belvoir’s Artistic Associates. She is currently working across theatre and art installation. 

Amelia Lever-Davidson

Amelia Lever-Davidson is an award-winning lighting designer for theatre, dance, live art, installation and events. Belvoir credits: BLESSED UNION, MY BRILLIANT CAREER, EVERY BRILLIANT THING. Other credits include: for Sydney Theatre Company: THE SEAGULL, JULIUS CEASAR; for Melbourne Theatre Company: THE ALMIGHTY SOMETIMES, MEET ME AT DAWN, BLOOM, BERNHARDT/HAMLET, GIRLS & BOYS, SLAP. BANG. KISS, ADMISSIONS, TORCH THE PLACE, THE VIOLENT OUTBURST THAT DREW ME TO YOU; for Malthouse Theatre: MACBETH, AN UNDOING, HOUR OF THE WOLF, K-BOX, BECAUSE THE NIGHT, AUSTRALIAN REALNESS, TRUSTEES, TURBINE; for Chunky Move: NEXT MOVE 11; for Circa: LEVIATHAN; for Darebin Arts’ Speakeasy: HYDRA, MORAL PANIC, CONTEST, NICHE, CONVICTION, DREAM HOME; for Belvoir 25A: THEY DIVIDED THE SKY; for fortyfivedownstairs: LOOKING GLASS, TRIUMPH; for Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre: YOUR NAME MEANS DREAM, MONUMENT, A SIMPLE ACT OF KINDNESS, DESERT 6.29PM, JURASSICA AND FOXFINDER; for Sydney Chamber Opera: GILGAMESH.

Awards: Green Room Awards: 2020 Best Visual Design for DIASPORA, 2018 best Light Design for CONTEST, 2017 best lighting design for LOOKING GLASS, 2015 Body of Work. Australia Council ArtStart and JUMP Mentorship recipient.

Steve Francis

Steve has worked extensively in theatre, dance and screen. His Belvoir credits include The Wrong Gods, The Weekend, Jungle and the Sea, Tell me I’m Here, Cursed, My Brilliant Career, Packer & Sons, Things I Know To Be True, Winyanboga Yurringa, Every Brilliant Thing, The Sugar House, The Book of Everything, The Power of Yes, Ruben Guthrie, Baghdad Wedding, and Capricornia.

His other theatre credits include The Sound Inside, The Children, The Weir, The Sublime (MTC); Julia, No Pay No Way, Appropriate, Beauty Queen of Leanne, Still Point Turning, The Father, The Hanging, Disgraced, Battle of Waterloo, Switzerland, The Long Way Home, The Secret River, Machinal and Bloodland (STC); Boy Swallows Universe (QT); Love Stories (Brisbane Festival); Hamlet, Henry V (Bell Shakespeare); and Between Two Waves, This Year’s Ashes, Speaking in Tongues (Griffin).

For dance, Steve has composed music for Baleen (Adelaide Festival), Horizon, Wudjang, Sandsong, Dark Emu, Bennelong, Belong, True Stories, Skin, Walkabout, Bush (Bangarra Dance).

His awards include Helpmann Awards for Best Original Score in 2012 and 2003 and Best New Australian Work in 2003 and Sydney Theatre Awards in 2011 and 2014.

Madeleine Picard

Madeleine is a sound designer & composer working on Gadigal land. Combining her backgrounds in technical theatre and music, she is interested in storytelling through sound and in being part of the creation of new Australian theatrical works. Recent select credits include: Hot Tub (Belvoir 25A); Scab (ATYP); All the Fraudulent Horse Girls (Old Fitz); Shitty (Belvoir 25A); The Weekend (Belvoir). She has also recently worked as associate sound designer and/or realiser for a number of productions including Song of First Desire (Belvoir), Ride the Cyclone (Hayes), Zombie! The Musical (Hayes), and Julia (Sydney Theatre Company). Her work on Shitty was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Sound Design/Composition of an Independent Production. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Theatre and Stage Management) from NIDA.

Sabyasachi (Rahul) Bhattacharya

Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, a classical musician and composer now based in Melbourne, is an exponent of the 19-string sarod, a prominent North Indian classical instrument. 

Following the tradition of Indian classical music education, his formal training began at the age of five with vocal music.

During his teenage years, he transitioned to the sarod, learning under the tutelage of legendary  sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan in New Delhi. Since moving to Australia, Sabyasachi continues to refine his artistry under the mentorship of sitar maestro Ustad Shahid Parvez and Pandit Sugato Nag.

With over 25 years of solo concert experience, he has performed in  India, Australia, Mauritius, Singapore, and the USA. Beyond performing, Sabyasachi wrote the first-ever book on playing the Sarod. He has also been active in  fostering cross-cultural musical collaborations within Australia, notably performing the first Concerto for Sarod with the Preston Symphony Orchestra in 2014.

Sabyasachi serves as the Artistic Director of the Melbourne Hindustani Classical Music Society and currently holds the position of President at the Federation of Indian Music and Dance, an umbrella organization for Indian classical music and dance schools in Victoria. His diverse background includes a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and an MBA from Deakin University.

Nigel Poulton

Nigel is an award-winning movement director, fight and intimacy coordinator, SAG-AFTRA/MEAA stunt performer and actor, with over 25 years of professional experience. Selected theatre credits include: for Belvoir St Theatre, Holding the Man, The Master and Margarita, Miss Peony, Packer and Sons, Things I Know To Be True, Stop Girl, Blessed Union, At What Cost?, The Jungle and the Sea; for Sydney Theatre Company, Oil, On The Beach, Do Not Go Gentle, Fences; for Bell Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth; for Melbourne Theatre Company, Bernhardt/Hamlet; for Ensemble Theatre, Memory of Water, Mr Bailey’s Minder, Suddenly Last Summer. Nigel’s film and television work includes: Deadloch, Nautilus, Poker Face, Thor: Love and Thunder, Spiderhead, Ding Dong I’m Gay, Occupation 2, Pirates of the Caribbean V, Deadline Gallipoli, The Water Diviner, The Bourne Legacy, Vikingdom and Winter’s Tale.

In 2021, Nigel was awarded the status of Fight Master with the Society of American Fight Directors, as one of only two recipients outside the US with this accolade. He has also won a Green Room Award for outstanding contribution to the stage.

Laura Farrell

Laura Farrell (she/her) is a Voice and Dialect Coach living and working on Gadigal land. She holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Voice from NIDA; a Post Graduate Diploma in Voice from the Victorian College of the Arts; and a Bachelor of Music Theatre from the Victorian College of the Arts. A current lecturer for NIDA’s BFA, Laura has also taught on multiple Sydney actor training programs, including NIDA’s Diploma of Stage and Screen and Diploma of Music Theatre, Actors Pulse, Sydney Acting Studio, Actors Centre Australia and The University of Wollongong.

For Belvoir, Laura’s coaching credits include Into The Woods, directed by Eamon Flack (2023), Blue, directed by Deborah Brown (2023), The Jungle And The Sea, directed by Eamon Flack (2022), Tell Me I’m Here, directed by Leticia Caceres (2022), Fangirls, directed by Paige Rattray (2022) and Counting And Cracking, directed by Eamon Flack (2022).  

Other credits include Pear Shaped, directed by Miranda Middleton (Rogue Projects, 2023), F*** It Bucket, directed by Alyssa McClelland (LeftBank Productions UK, 2022),  Reluctant Sea Shanty for UNHCR, directed by Kyra Bartley (FINCH, 2022), Picnic At Hanging Rock, directed by Claudia Osbourne (NIDA, 2022), Paper Stars, directed by Miranda Middleton (Salty Theatre, 2021) and Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., directed by Heather Fairbairn (NIDA, Sydney 2021). 

Madelaine Osborn

Madelaine is a theatremaker living and working on Gadigal and Wiradjuri land. In 2015 she graduated from Charles Sturt University’s B. Communication: Theatre/Media course with Distinction and was the 2015 recipient of the Blair Milan Memorial Scholarship. 

Madelaine’s Stage Management credits: For Belvoir: Assistant Stage Manager for Master and Margarita (dir. Eamon Flack 2023). For Force Majeure: Gardener’s Apprentice (dir. Danielle Micich, 2025 Development) and Power (dir. Danielle Micich, 2024 Biennale). For Ensemble Theatre: Assistant Stage Manager for The Queen’s Nanny by Melanie Tait (dir. Priscilla Jackman, 2024). For Griffin Theatre Company: Jailbaby by Suzie Miller (dir. Andrea James, 2023, 2024). Ghosting the Party by Melissa Bubnic (dir. Andrea James 2022), Is There Something Wrong with that Lady? by Debra Oswald (dir. Lee Lewis 2021). For Arts on Tour: Highway of Lost Hearts by Mary Anne Butler (dir. Adam Deusien 2024). For Performing Lines: Sunshine Super Girl (dir. Andrea James, National Tour 2022).

Steph Storr

Stephanie is a proud Biripi woman from Newcastle, New South Wales living and working on Gadigal land. Stephanie has worked in all aspects of Stage Management across dance, theatre, film, corporate events and live performance, with a strong focus on Indigenous storytelling.

Stephanie started her career as the Indigenous Production Trainee at Bangarra Dance theatre in 2018, making her way through the ranks as Production Assistant, Assistant Stage Manager and most recently in 2021 became the first Indigenous Resident Stage Manager of Bangarra Dance Theatre.

Stephanie’s credits include Sand Song: Stories of the Great Sandy Desert; Terrain; Wudjang: Not the Past (Sydney Theatre Company); Brolga Spirit (Sydney Festival, North American Tour) ; Bennelong; 30 Years of 65,000; Dubboo: Life of a Songman; Ochres; Macq; Nyapanyapa; Dark Emu. (Bangarra Dance.Theatre). Spamalot (One Eyed Man Productions, Hayes Theatre Co), Black Drop Effect (Bankstown Theatre Company).

Mia Kanzaki

Mia Kanzaki is a Sydney based Stage Manager who is committed to inclusive arts practices. As Stage Manager, her credits include Tiddas (Belvoir) and The Face of Jizo (OMUSUBI & Red Line Productions). As Assistant Stage Manager, her credits include Picnic at Hanging Rock (Sydney Theatre Company), Counting and Cracking, Holding the Man, The Weekend, At What Cost?, Blessed Union (Belvoir), The Heartbreak Choir and Summer of Harold (Ensemble Theatre). She is a graduate of WAAPA’s Bachelor of Performing Arts (Stage Management). 

Grace Sackman

Grace is an emerging Stage Manager who graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) with a BFA in Technical Theatre & Stage Management. 

Grace’s recent credits include ASM Sound on Guys & Dolls (HOSH-OA), ASM Swing on The Nutcracker (Aus Ballet), Props Assistant on & Juliet (MCG), ASM on Flat Earthers The Musical (Hayes Theatre Co), Rehearsal Room Stage Manager on Nayika A Dancing Girl (Belvoir), Stage Manager on The Turn Of The Screw (Hayes Theatre Co), Stage Manager on The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee (Hayes Theatre Co) and has worked with Sydney Festival for the past four years. Most recently as Assistant Event Coordinator at Roslyn Packer Theatre.

Daizy Maan

Daizy Maan is a Melbourne-based entrepreneur, creative producer, and community leader known for her impactful work amplifying South Asian voices in Australia. As the Founder and CEO of the Australian South Asian Centre, she has led over 40 events, built a 3,000+ strong community, and championed gender equity initiatives. Daizy is also the creator of Brown Women Comedy, Australia’s first comedy platform dedicated to South Asian women, with sold-out performances across major festivals including Melbourne, Sydney, and Edinburgh. With a background in entrepreneurship through leadership roles at Deakin University and the University of Melbourne, she brings a bold, get-it-done attitude, strong public speaking skills, and a passion for diasporic storytelling through art, comedy, and culture.

Production Thanks

PRODUCTION MANAGER
Ren Kenward

VENUE TECHNICIAN
Paris Bell

COSTUME SUPERVISOR
Belinda Crawford

LIGHTING PROGRAMMER
Harry Clegg

COSTUME MAINTENANCE
Sally Pereira

CONSTRUCTION DRAUGHTSPEOPLE
HB Scenery (Matt Higgins and Pete Blankley)

SCENERY WORKSHOP
Ashley de Prazer, Ashley Teasel, Timothy Hill

TECHNICIANS
Matty James, Moses Mahoney, Matilda Press, Courtney Weaver, Jemima Fleet, Jessie Edwards, Barney Allen, EJ Zielenski, Stephanie Chisolm

PROPS MAKER
Isabell Delaurentis

SCENIC ARTISTS
Mel Antoni, Indigo Redding, Desiré Catania

DESIGN SECONDMENT
Nethmi Gunasekera