The Wrong Gods: When the Sacred is Shaken

What do we call progress — and what do we lose when we pursue it blindly? In this episode of SBS Spice, Dilpreet Kaur Taggar speaks to the team behind The Wrong Gods — the new play by Counting and Cracking writer S. Shakthidharan, now premiering at Sydney’s Belvoir St Theatre. Set in a rural Indian valley, The Wrong Gods is an intimate drama about a mother and daughter divided by belief, and a community forced to reckon with the promises and perils of modernisation. Featuring conversations with actors Nadie Kammallaweera and Radhika Mudaliyar, designer Keerthi Subramanyam, and Shakthidharan himself. Listen now on SBS Spice, wherever you get your podcasts.

Radhika Mudaliyar (L) and Nadie Kammallaweera (R) in The Wrong Gods. Hear them on this episode of SBS Spice, alongside writer S. Shakthidharan and designer Keerthi Subramanyam. Photo: Brett Boardman

Credit: Brett Boardman Photography

Capitalism and the idea of progress is as much a god as religions are. We’ve never believed in a god so quickly or so wholly.

S. Shakthidharan, Writer and Co-Director

After reading the script, I kept asking — who are my gods? Because we all worship, to some extent, the wrong gods.

Nadie Kammallaweera, Actor

Anyone who drinks water from a tap will relate to this.

Radhika Mudaliyar, Actor

Each and every sort of object and costume item within the show has so much meaning and significance and history behind it that it really is a designer's dream.

Keerthi Subramanyam, Set and Costume Designer

LISTEN TO

S. Shakthidharan: Counting years, cracking silences

SBS Audio

29:51English

SBS Spice is your go-to for South Asian Australian culture, exploring what makes us tick—or ick. Catch us on your favourite podcast platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and the SBS Audio app.

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