Shakthi is a western Sydney storyteller with Sri Lankan heritage and Tamil ancestry. He’s a writer, director and producer of film and theatre, and composer of original music as one half of the band Kurinji. Recent projects include his debut play, Counting and Cracking, which recently completed a sold out season to rave reviews at the 2019 Sydney Festival, with Belvoir; Laka, a multi-platform film and VR project touring around the world, from Brewarrina to Los Angeles; and Rizzy’s 18th Birthday Party, which premiered at Carriageworks in 2014 and was adapted into feature film Riz for the 2015 Sydney Film Festival. Both Laka and Counting and Cracking form part of Shakthi's Colony body of work, a universe of interconnected stories stretching from before colonisation through to an imagined 22nd century. Shakthi is the current Artistic Director of Co-Curious. Co-Curious is a sister company to CuriousWorks, where Shakthi was the Founder and Artistic Director from 2003-2018. Shakthi was the inaugural Associate Artist at Carriageworks and is the recipient of the Phillip Parson’s and Kirk Robson awards.