AGARAM PRODUCTIONS, AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY AND TE AHUREI TŌI O TĀMAKI AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL PRESENT

PRESS PLAY FOR A TALE OF FAMILY RESILIENCE AND THE UNIVERSAL POWER OF MUSIC

Auckland Theatre Company proudly announces the world premiere of a mixtape for maladies, an evocative new work by acclaimed Sri Lankan writer Ahi Karunaharan. Presented in collaboration with Agaram Productions and Te Ahurei Tōi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival, this powerful story of love, loss and legacy presses play at the ASB Waterfront Theatre from 4 to 23 March.

Beginning in a small coastal Sri Lankan village, a mixtape for maladies follows Sangeetha, a young woman who treasures music as a way to connect with her family. Her crush on a local shopkeeper is cut short as the country falls into civil war, forever altering her path. Now residing in Aotearoa with her son Deepan, Sangeetha’s old mixtape is all that remains of her former life. As Deepan plays each song, he unearths his family’s bittersweet story, illuminating the weight of history and a new understanding of identity.

"Part of the work lies in the disconnect between generations," Karunaharan reflects, "a son who knows world history and Western philosophy but little of his own family’s experience.”

Through his writing, anchored in his personal heritage and family stories, Karunaharan offers up a celebration of family and nostalgia against the aftermath of Sri Lanka's civil conflict. Exploring the transformative power of song and music, performed by a live band, the play connects all people to times in their lives they have felt displaced, and the unyielding pull of people and place.

a mixtape for maladies takes audiences deeper into the diaspora experience of war and migration, and acts as a reminder of the human cost of conflict. Karunaharan says, “As well as being for my community this story is also for the rest of the world.”

This is the final chapter in Karunaharan’s trilogy, following Tea and The Mourning After. Karunaharan is joined by longtime collaborator and director Jane Yonge, celebrated for her provocative work in Scenes from a Yellow Peril. In a mixtape for maladies, Yonge’s direction, influenced by her own multicultural background, brings depth to this collaboration, underscoring her and Karunaharan’s shared commitment to platforming Asian stories and storytellers.

After a popular and highly acclaimed reading as part of the 2023 Te Ahurei Tōi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival, many of the cast return including Ambika G.K.R, Ravikanth Gurunathan, Shaan Kesha, Gemma-Jayde Naidoo, joined for a full-scale stage performance by Tiahli Martyn and Bala Murali Shingade.

In a mixtape for maladies, memories of the past are revealed as this story journeys to it's unforgettable conclusion.

For tickets and further information, visit atc.co.nz.

To ensure all audiences are welcome to come to see this work there are $20 access tickets for Relaxed, NZSL-Interpreted and Audio Described performances. Other ways to save include $30 tickets for Under 30 year olds, supported by Europcar.

a mixtape for maladies
by Ahi Karunaharan
4 – 23 March 2025

ASB Waterfront Theatre, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland
Tickets and info www.atc.co.nz 09 309 3395

CREATIVE TEAM:
Director: Jane Yonge
Production Design: Filament Eleven 11
Costume Design: Padma Akula
Music Director: Karnan Saba
Sound Design: Te Aihe Butler
Musicians: Seyorn Arunagirinathan, Ben Fernandez, and Ahi Karunaharan