S Shakthidharan, the Sri Lankan Australian playwright known professionally as Shakthi, has been awarded one of the most prestigious and elusive honors in global literature. The announcement that the Australian playwright S Shakthidharan wins $250,000 Windham-Campbell Prize for drama recognizes a body of work that translates the specific, often silenced traumas of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora into universal narratives of belonging and loss.
The prize, which grants a sum of US$175,000 (approximately $250,000 AUD), is distinct in the literary world for its nomination process. Unlike most major awards, writers cannot apply for the Windham-Campbell; instead, they are nominated in secret, making the win a sudden validation of an artist’s impact. For Shakthi, the news arrived via email while he was in Sri Lanka filming his debut feature movie, The Laugh of Lakshmi, a story centered on a mother and son separated by the devastation of civil war.
The judges described Shakthi as a “rare storyteller whose work traverses time and space while remaining anchored in core emotional truths.” This recognition comes at a time when Shakthi is expanding his creative reach across multiple mediums, from the stage to the screen and the page, while continuing to challenge the traditional narratives of Australian identity.
Giving Voice to the Tamil Diaspora
At the heart of Shakthi’s acclaim is his ability to navigate the complex intersection of migrant identity and historical violence. His debut play, Counting and Cracking, serves as a cornerstone of this exploration. Co-written with Belvoir artistic director Eamon Flack, the production is a multigenerational epic that spans nearly five decades, reflecting the resilience and fragility of the Tamil experience.
Counting and Cracking spans nearly five decades and runs at three-and-a-half hours. (Supplied: Belvoir/Brett Boardman)
The play’s emotional weight is rooted in a harrowing family history. Shakthi’s family was forced to flee Sri Lanka following the 1983 Black July pogrom in Colombo, a period of anti-Tamil violence that resulted in the deaths of an estimated 5,600 people. For Shakthi, the process of writing Counting and Cracking—which toured the UK and Novel York and won the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature in 2020—was more than an artistic exercise; it was a “radical act of belonging” that helped him and his mother reconcile their migrant identities.
This trajectory continued with The Jungle and the Sea, a 2022 collaboration with Flack that explicitly confronted the toll of the Sri Lankan civil war (1983–2009). By bringing these specific, vulnerable truths to the stage, Shakthi has carved out a space for stories that often fall outside the mainstream Australian consciousness.
Rajan Velu, Kalieaswari Srinivasan and Anandavalli in Shakthi’s second play, The Jungle and the Sea, at Belvoir in 2022. (Supplied: Belvoir/Sriram Jeyaraman)
The Struggle for Art and Recognition
Despite the global acclaim, Shakthi has been candid about the difficulties of maintaining a creative career within Australia. He has noted that the stories he tells are “not the usual stories this country tells,” suggesting a disconnect between the nation’s perceived identity and the lived reality of many of its citizens.
“To get that global recognition hopefully puts forward a version of Australia which is a bit more progressive than our current reality here,” he said.
The financial windfall of the Windham-Campbell Prize provides more than just prestige; it offers a rare form of creative autonomy. Shakthi emphasized that the funding allows him to focus entirely on the art itself, noting that he has previously had to “fight hard to do anything in this country.”
His commitment to community-led storytelling is further evidenced by his role as the director and co-founder of Kurinji, a theatre company based in Western Sydney. Through Kurinji, Shakthi continues to foster a space where marginalized voices can be centered, mirroring the themes of his own work.
A Versatile Body of Work
Shakthi’s recent output demonstrates a restless versatility. In addition to his plays, he published his debut memoir, Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath, last year. His most recent theatrical effort, The Wrong Gods, which opened in Sydney in 2025, shifts focus toward the tension between tradition and progress and the resulting environmental degradation.
The Windham-Campbell judges’ decision to embrace his work reflects a broader trend of recognizing narratives from the Global South and their diaspora. Shakthi joins a distinguished list of this year’s winners, including Belgian American writer Lucy Sante and British novelist Gwendoline Riley. He also follows in the footsteps of past Australian laureates such as poet Ali Cobby Eckermann, playwright Patricia Cornelius, and author Helen Garner.
What’s Next for S Shakthidharan
As Shakthi continues to bridge the gap between Sri Lankan history and Australian contemporary life, his work remains highly accessible to the public. For those looking to experience his storytelling firsthand, The Jungle and the Sea is scheduled for a significant run in 2026.
| Venue | Dates | City |
|---|---|---|
| Belvoir St Theatre | July 11 – August 2 | Sydney |
| Melbourne Theatre Company | August 14 – September 12 | Melbourne |
With the completion of The Laugh of Lakshmi and the support of the Windham-Campbell Prize, Shakthi is positioned to further elevate the visibility of Tamil migrant experiences. The next major checkpoint for his work will be the 2026 theatrical tour, which promises to bring his exploration of war and memory back to the forefront of the Australian stage.
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