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Despite its 3½-hour, three-act runtime, Counting and Cracking rarely lags – its second act is the most dense in terms of historical information, but it always feels accessible.
That old adage – the personal is political – rings true in Shakthidharan’s telling of this family’s story, based on his own family’s story.
It is as much about Sid’s personal journey towards embracing his culture and family as it is about the history of Sri Lanka and the experience of multigenerational diaspora in Australia.
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Deeply felt and searingly intelligent, Counting and Cracking has all the makings of a modern Australian classic.
Reviewed by Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
MUSIC
The Boite 45th Birthday Celebration Concert ★★★★
Collingwood Town Hall, June 1
In June 1979, multicultural organisation The Boite presented its very first concert, with artists representing music traditions from Greece, Chile, New Guinea and indigenous Australia.
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South African quintet Makepisi radiated vitality through their syncopated vocal rhythms and exquisite harmonies.
The mission of the fledgling Melbourne-based organisation was the same then as it is today: to support culturally diverse artists and promote connection and understanding through live music.
Exactly 45 years after that first concert, The Boite celebrated its birthday on Saturday with a large-scale concert at the Collingwood Town Hall. Over three hours, more than 50 performers came together to illustrate the remarkable breadth, depth and enduring impact of The Boite’s cultural activities.
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Kavisha Mazzella performed her first Melbourne gig at The Boite in the ’90s.
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We heard from artists who have a decades-long association with The Boite – including singer/guitarist Kavisha Mazzella, who was invited by The Boite to give her first-ever gig in Melbourne in the early 1990s. Mazzella opened Saturday’s concert with a poignant Italian folk song, and also served as the evening’s convivial MC.
We heard from a young Colombian-born duo (Pal Mar), who took part in The Boite’s Portfolio program for emerging talent. Stella Savy and Deb Lowah Clark (both previous directors of The Boite’s massed-choir program for schools across Victoria) shared songs from the Torres Strait Islands, while community choir Sonidos del Alma offered folk songs from Latin America.
Several superb a cappella groups emphasised the power of the human voice to tap into centuries-old stories and traditions. South African quintet Makepisi radiated vitality through their syncopated vocal rhythms and exquisite harmonies, while Gorani and the Melbourne Georgian Choir faced off from opposite sides of the hall, their majestic voices projecting as if from distant mountain tops.
The Music Between united artists and instruments from Iran, Italy, India and Indonesia in a captivating set that reflected the desire of current Boite director Zulya Kamalova to foster new cross-cultural collaborations.
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And the 12-piece Balkan brass band Opa Bato transformed the concert into a full-blown party. Their visceral, pulsating horns and frenetic odd-metered rhythms brought many in the audience to their feet, embodying the spirit of inclusion and engagement that lies at the heart of The Boite’s philosophy. Long may it flourish.
Reviewed by Jessica Nicholas
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