THE WRONG GODS

THE WRONG
GODS

  • 3 May – 1 Jun 25 Upstairs Theatre
  • 90 minutes (no interval)

THE WRONG
GODS

By S.Shakthidharan
Directed by Hannah Goodwin & S.Shakthidharan

  • Venue Upstairs Theatre
  • Dates 3 May – 1 Jun 25
  • Duration 90 minutes (no interval)
  • Content warning

    The Wrong Gods contains mild coarse language and features the use of haze and strobe lights.

    Should you wish to speak to a member of staff regarding running times, content warnings or any other show related queries, our box office can be contacted on 02 9699 3444.

  • Co-Produced with
  • Supported by
    • THE HIVE – Supporting emerging talent at Belvoir

A mother, a daughter, and the unstoppable tide of change…

From the writer of Counting and Cracking comes a powerful new work of theatre that pulses with spirit, struggle, and the bonds of family. 

On the banks of a sacred river, in the heart of India, a battle is brewing. Not with weapons but with words, wisdom and wills. When a bold young girl dares to dream beyond her village and a mysterious stranger arrives with promises of progress, centuries of tradition are put to the test. 

The Wrong Gods is a fierce showdown between the old world and the new. Between land and money, gods and markets, mothers and daughters. It’s part epic, part fable, part call to arms.

Funny, moving, and quietly political, The Wrong Gods is about the cost of ambition, the fight for self-determination, and the complicated inheritance of a world in flux. 

Don’t miss your chance to be captivated by yet another remarkable and thought-provoking work by S. Shakthidharan.

This is a fine play of ideas, for fine actors. Nadie Kammallaweera, Radhika Mudaliyar and the award-winning Vaishnavi Suryaprakash have all given unforgettable performances in Shakthi’s work in recent years. Counting and Cracking and The Jungle and the Sea were big plays. Here, with just four actors and ninety minutes, Shakthi’s writing is even bigger than ever, modelling in this small patch of India the impact of capitalism on the planet as a whole. What a writer. – Eamon

Performance Times

Weekly Times

  • tuesday 6:30pm

    Except 6 May at 7:30pm

  • wednesday 6:30pm
  • thursday 1pm & 7:30pm

    No 1pm performance on 8 May & 15 May

  • friday 7:30pm
  • saturday 2pm & 7:30pm

    No 2pm performance on 3 May

  • sunday 5pm

    Except 4 May at 6:30pm & 1 Jun at 2pm

  • image description Preview Session
  • image description Special Performance
  • image description School Performance

PRICES

  • Full Price (Adult)^ $76 – $97
  • Mates Rates (Adult)^ $71 – $87
  • Senior* $66 – $87
  • Concession $56 – $77
  • 30-Down# $54 – $69
  • Previews $56 – $61
  • Student Saver $41 – $56

Save with Season Tickets!

With 4-play packages starting from $190 plus a range of ticket types and concessions, there is a package to suit everyone!

Join Us

~ Bookings of 10+ full price adult tickets receive a $10 discount per ticket.
^ Tickets to Saturday and Sunday performances may have an added $5 surcharge.
* Seniors prices are available with an eligible Australian Government-issued Seniors Card.
† Concession prices are available with a full-time student card, Centrelink Pensioner concession card, Veterans’ Affairs cards, and to members of Actors Equity (MEAA), and ArtsHub, and HotHouse Theatre Subscribers.
# 30-Down and Student Saver prices are available for Previews, Tuesday evening, Wednesday evening, Thursday evening, Friday evening, and Saturday matinees.

TEAM

  • S. Shakthidharan
    Writer and Co-Director
    image description

    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 […]

    Read full bio
  • Hannah Goodwin
    Co-Director
    image description

    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 […]

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  • Cast

  • Manali Datar
    Devi
    image description

    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), […]

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  • Nadie Kammallaweera
    Nirmala
    image description

    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 […]

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  • Radhika Mudaliyar
    Isha
    image description

    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 […]

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  • Vaishnavi Suryaprakash
    Lakshmi
    image description

    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 […]

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  • Creatives

  • Keerthi Subramanyam
    Set and Costume Designer
    image description

    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 […]

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  • Amelia Lever-Davidson
    Lighting Designer
    image description

    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, […]

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  • Steve Francis
    Sound Designer
    image description

    Steve has worked extensively in theatre, dance and screen. His Belvoir credits include 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 Children, […]

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  • Madeleine Picard
    Associate Sound Designer
    image description

    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 […]

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  • Sabyasachi (Rahul) Bhattacharya
    Composer
    image description

    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 […]

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  • Nigel Poulton
    Movement & Fight Director, Intimacy Coordinator
    image description

    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?, […]

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  • Laura Farrell
    Vocal Coach
    image description

    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 […]

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  • Madelaine Osborn
    Stage Manager
    image description

    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 […]

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  • Steph Storr
    Stage Manager
    image description

    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 […]

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  • Mia Kanzaki
    Assistant Stage Manager
    image description

    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, […]

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  • Grace Sackman
    Assistant Stage Manager
    image description

    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 […]

    Read full bio

Information
for schools

  • Book your performance

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    TERM TWO

    See this play for:
    CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN THEATRE PRACTICE
    POLITICAL THEATRE

    Recommended for Years 9 – 12

    Curriculum Links

    Drama
    Stage 5
    • Appreciating
      (Outcomes 5.3.1, 5.3.2)
    Stage 6
    Preliminary
    • Improvisation, Playbuilding, Acting (P1.7, P1.8, P2.1, P2.2, P2.6, P3.1)
    • Elements of Production in Performance
      (Outcomes P2.6, P3.1, P3.2)
    • Theatrical Traditions and Performance Styles
      (Outcomes P2.6, P3.1, P3.2, P3.4)
    HSC
    • Individual Project: Performance, Scriptwriting, Design
    GEOGRAPHy
    Stage 6 (PRELIMINARY)
    • People, Patterns and Processes, Human Environment Interactions (Outcomes: GE-1101, GE-11-02, GE-11-03)

    Schools Performances

    All schools performances are followed by a Q&A session with the cast.
    • Wed, 14 May 2025 11:30am

    Tickets are only $25 per student with one complimentary teacher ticket for every ten students booked.

    Evening and Matinee Performances

    School groups can book any general public performance. Book our Thursday 1PM matinees for the schools performance price of $25 per ticket, or an evening performance from $45 per student.

    What to expect

    Belvoir creates for a wide audience and our productions may contain mature content. Accurate information about productions including running times and content is available once rehearsals have begun.

    Contact Us

    For more information about our education programs, please get in touch.

    Head of Education Jane May
    Education Coordinator Claudia Ware
    +61 (2) 8396 6241

    Book your performance

    Complete this form to request tickets for The Wrong Gods
    Want to book multiple productions? Head to our full Schools Booking request

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