In the fourth week of rehearsals for The Wrong Gods, Vaishnavi Suryaprakash is right in the thick of the creative process—and her joy in the work is unmistakable. A NIDA graduate with a background in Bharatanatyam and law, and known for her award-winning performance in Counting and Cracking, Vaishnavi brings fierce intellect, physical precision, and deep-hearted commitment to every role she inhabits.

When we spoke, she was glowing about the rehearsal room: “The team of people I work with is always really important to me and is just divine… joyful, generous and amazing.” As we talked, it became clear just how deeply she connects with the questions at the heart of The Wrong Gods—about land, legacy, and what we worship.

In this conversation Vaishnavi shares insight into her creative process, her long-standing collaboration with writer-director S. Shakthidharan, and how working on this piece has prompted deep personal reflection—on what we carry, what we leave behind, and how we live.

So, without further ado, here’s Faith’s Top 5 with Vaishnavi Suryaprakash. Let’s get enlightened!

1. You’ve built a multi-faceted career as an actor, dancer, writer, and now as a dramaturg . How do you balance these different artistic identities, and how do they inform the way you approach a role like the one in The Wrong Gods?

All of them inform each other—they enrich each other in terms of perspective and understanding. Ultimately, they’re all trying to tell stories or be in the world in a deeper way. So it all kind of feeds the same place.

Actually, I think that all the different parts of my creative practice inform each other and are interlinked. I didn’t realise this when I was kind of dabbling, but as I’ve gone in deeper, I’ve understood, for example, that my craft as an actor—understanding why a character would say something, or what kind of thing they would say in a given moment—informs my ability to be a good dramaturg for a playwright, and vice versa. They all feel like one blob, for want of a better word. It’s like a mixture of paints. And I think gaining insight into one form actually makes me better at another. I love that kind of flexibility and creativity of mind that goes into the different types

2. You’ve been part of this growing creative family through Counting and Cracking, The Jungle and the Sea and now The Wrong Gods. What’s it like stepping into a new world with the same collaborators—does it feel like coming home or starting fresh?

You can’t express my sounds of joy in a written interview, but it’s like a big hug. It feels like we know a little bit more about how we all work. So we’re able to take that knowledge and actually create a space where everyone can work to their best ability.

It also means that some of the nervousness and hesitation that comes with the first few weeks of rehearsal, meeting new people, being on the floor, and not wanting to step on people’s toes or over their lines—those things have already been done before. We’ve all been able to come out of the gate firing. We know we have each other’s backs. That kind of support is making every single one of us elevate our output. I love them.

3. Audiences were profoundly moved by Counting and Cracking—it became a touchstone.  What do you hope The Wrong Gods will stir in audiences now?  

They will still get an excellent yarn and they will meet four female characters who are incredibly powerful in their own right. 

I hope they take on the story and they don’t just see it located in Narmada Valley in India because it’s actually speaking to a global society. What’s happening in the show is happening all around the world at this moment. I really hope the audience will reflect on what they are actually valuing in their lives in modern Western society. How do they want the future to look for themselves, their children, and their grandchildren? What kind of connection do they have to the environment, to nature, and to culture—a culture that could go back thousands and thousands of years. 

Maybe for the first time, they’ll think about how they can reconcile these enduring ways of thinking  or enduring cultural practices with discoveries that have come about in more recent years. I think about this a lot, especially as someone who feels connected to Indian heritage. I have that for myself, but I also don’t agree with various parts of that and what it means in terms of expectations or upbringing. So, what is that reconciliation that can happen in order to still hold on to something dear but move into a new way of being?

4. How did the smaller scale of The Wrong Gods change the way its big ideas landed, compared to the epic scope of Counting and Cracking?

The scale of this show, in terms of tangible qualities, is smaller. So you’ve got only four actors in the show, as opposed to 17 performers in Counting and Cracking. And you have a fixed place where the story takes place. And there’s only two time periods, so everything is much more focused and sharper in terms of story.

I think what it does is it actually allows the audience to have the space to grapple with some really big ideas and debates that the show throws up, and to think a bit deeper into the characters and their point of view. They’re different in that way, but they’re similar in the fact that Shakti’s (S Shakthidharan, Writer and Co-Director) has written a lot of his works with—such clarity around certain issues. And he doesn’t ever tell you outright what he wants you to think either way— maybe because he doesn’t know— but he does give you some really good food for thought.

5. You’ve already touched on The Wrong Gods as for strong women with strong commitments and convictions. What does that mean to you personally—and how did that sense of strength shape the way you approached your character?”

I really have relished the presence of these three other women that I get to play with on stage. And for each of us to be able to inhabit a character, a female character who is multidimensional, complex, pointy, spiky, kind, you know, disgusting! What it actually is to be a human woman, and the power we have in us. But I don’t think we see that as much in all its glory in the media, so that has been fantastic. And I’ve learned so much from everyone on the team as well as a result. There is an allowance of “ Hey, you’re allowed to take up space, and you’re allowed to own your power, and you can shine your light” I think when you’re finally given that space, you realise, oh, I had been making myself a bit smaller for a while there. So actually, this process for me has been wonderfully opening.

Bonus Question: What was one question you were secretly hoping I’d ask, and what’s your answer?

What kind tea of tea did I drink today ?

I drank Orange Pekoe. I’m a huge tea lover. I’m just obsessed with tea. I think at the moment, Pekoe is the only tea I have left at home. I’m running low. It tastes like sunshine in a cup, and it looks like afternoon light.

The Wrong Gods plays at Belvoir St Theatre (Upstairs) from 3 May – 25 June. For tickets and more information, visit:   https://belvoir.com.au/productions/the-wrong-gods/

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