A Mixtape for Maladies is the final play in a trilogy by Ahilan Karunaharan and it tells the story of Sangeetha (Ambika G.K.R) a woman who fled to New Zealand from Sri Lanka during that country’s long civil war.
Now living with her husband and her son Deepan (Shaan Kesha), who was born in Aotearoa, she has an ordinary life and, typical of most mothers, wants him to settle down, buy a house and find a wife.
But Deepan is not ready for that yet, his passion is music and the podcast he started. Finding a mixtape from the 80s in his mum’s belongings he asks her to come on his show to discuss it. Initially reluctant, Sangeetha eventually agrees and as they listen to the tracks, she tells Deepan the real story of his family which she has kept hidden from him all his life.
As each track begins, the action moves to the past when Sangeetha (now played by Gemma-Jayde Naidoo) is a teenager. She lives with her widowed father Rajan (Ahilan Karunaharan), her sister Subbalaxmi (Tiahli Martyn) and brother Vishwanathan (Ravikanth Gurunathan).
Living in the northern village of Point Pedro we see the family dealing with the ordinary things in life, the siblings arguing, playing, laughing and savouring the delights of life and some of its taboos which include the secret love of Sangeetha’s life, Anton (Bala Murali Shingled), a local merchant.
Looming over all their lives however is the growing ethnic unrest in Sri Lanka that eventually turns into civil war. The consequences are felt across the land and with devastating effect on Sangeetha and her family.
This is, without a doubt, one hell of an amazing production. The story is compelling and expertly crafted. It weaves together an amazing pastiche of drama and humour so well that within minutes of it starting it feels as though these characters are close friends of ours.
The cast convincingly portray a tight-knit family and community. Every character was well rounded and had an opportunity to shine.
What added a wonderful dimension to the show was the sublime singing by the cast and the stunning on stage music provided by Seyorn Arunagirinathan and Ben Fernandez.
There were many compelling moments in the play, much of them funny and whimsical, yet the war was the mostly unseen menace that was never far off and it added an ongoing (and necessary) tension to the story. The tragic incidents were never directly shown on stage and that actually intensified the grief – not knowing what has happened to someone can be far more challenging.
The most powerful moment of the entire play was a monologue by the older Sangeetha in a devastatingly honest and emotional monologue about living through the horrors of war. One line summed it up succinctly:
“It’s like standing in a storm with no shelter and everything is shattered.”
But this is not a maudlin production or simply a polemic against war and prejudice. It is in fact an affirmation of life. A couple of time proven maxims are regularly quoted ‘what ever will be, will be,’ and ‘this too shall pass.’
This is the reality of life isn’t it? What we learn from such a play as this, is when we know our neighbours and see what we have in common rather than our differences, it is hard to hate them.
A Mixtape for Maladies is a stunning and deeply emotional piece of work that reaffirms the human spirit but also stands as a sobering reminder that giving in to our baser natures, especially towards those who are supposedly different to us only, leads to tragedy.
A MIX TAPE FOR MALADIES
4-23 March 2025
ASB Waterfront Theatre – Auckland
