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The play, named best Australian work of the 21st century by over 100 theatre professionals, will be presented in association with Queensland Theatre Company.

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Ten years in the making and the winner of 14 major awards, Counting and Cracking – hailed by more than 100 theatre professionals as the best Australian play of the 21st century – makes its Queensland debut at Brisbane Powerhouse from 27 May to 06 June 2027. A Belvoir St Theatre and Kurinji co-production, Counting and Cracking is presented by Brisbane Powerhouse in association with Queensland Theatre Company as part of its 2027 season. The internationally acclaimed work by S. Shakthidharan with Eamon Flack is an epic story of family, migration and belonging.

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The three-and-a-half-hour production arrives in Brisbane following triumphant seasons at Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and Edinburgh International Festival , with further international dates to be announced.

On the banks of Sydney's Georges River, Radha and her son Siddhartha release the ashes of Radha's mother – their final connection to the past, to Sri Lanka and its struggles. Finally, they feel free to embrace their lives in Australia. But a phone call from Colombo brings the past spinning back to life, taking them on a journey through love and political strife, home and exile, and the bonds between parents and children.

Spanning four generations and five decades, from 1956 to 2004, Counting and Cracking follows a Sri Lankan-Australian family across continents and generations. Featuring 16 performers, five languages and more than 50 characters, this sweeping work asks what we owe the past – and what we're allowed to leave behind.

Bringing the production to Brisbane marks the realisation of a long-held ambition for Brisbane Powerhouse CEO and Artistic Director Louise Bezzina, while also opening a new chapter of collaboration between two of Queensland's major cultural organisations.

“When I saw Counting and Cracking at the Adelaide Festival in 2019, I sat in that theatre in floods of tears, followed by moments of joy – sometimes within the same breath,” Bezzina says.

“ S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack have created something genuinely rare: a work of enormous theatrical scale that also reaches into the deepest, most private parts of what it means to be human.

“Bringing Counting and Cracking to Brisbane Powerhouse is a landmark moment – not just for us as an organisation, but for this city. Brisbane audiences deserve ambitious work like this, and partnerships are how we make more of it possible. When our major cultural organisations work together, we can be bolder about the experiences we bring to the city.”

“I'm thrilled to be embarking on this new chapter with Queensland Theatre Company and to finally give Brisbane audiences the chance to experience this extraordinary production.”

For co-writer and director Eamon Flack , who attended high school in Brisbane and studied at the University of Queensland, the production’s state debut carries a personal resonance, bringing one of his most celebrated works to a city that shaped his early theatre education.

The production has won seven Helpmann Awards, including Best Play and Best New Australian Work, three Sydney Theatre Awards and seven Green Room Awards, winning in every category for which it was nominated in 2025. It has also received the Victorian Premier's Prize for Literature, the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting and the 2026 Windham-Campbell Prize for Drama.

After a decade of development and an acclaimed run across Australia and internationally, Counting and Cracking now arrives in Brisbane for its long-awaited Queensland debut.

Counting and Cracking plays at Brisbane Powerhouse from 27 May to 06 June 2027. Tickets go on sale Thursday 08 October 2026.

Nominate your favorite local productions and performers before the deadline on October 31, 2026.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/brisbane/article/COUNTING-AND-CRACKING-to-Make-Queensland-Debut-at-Brisbane-Powerhouse-20261007)._