The Wrong Gods

Visionary playwright S. Shakthidharan returns with another story of hope, betrayal, tradition and self-discovery.

For 50,000 years, soldiers, missionaries and kings and queens have tried to conquer a remote Indian valley, and for 50,000 years Nirmala’s ancestors have kept them out. But what if ‘out’ is exactly where her daughter Isha wants to be?

The Wrong Gods is a gripping family tale from S. Shakthidharan. His Sri Lankan-Australian epic Counting and Cracking played to standing ovations at RISING 2024 and went on to triumphantly tour the UK and New York. After its decade-spanning sprawl, he now gives us a more intimate character study. A mother-daughter struggle with the economics of progress. A deal with the devil.

When a stranger arrives with an offer for Isha that’s too good to be true, the two must reckon with the costs of their bargain. Family, freedom and the fates of thousands will ultimately rest in their hands.

Rich with poetry and imagery, The Wrong Gods confronts globalisation’s bold promises to a finite planet and asks a question that doesn’t have a safe answer.

If everything in this world comes at a cost, who gets to decide what that cost will be?