The storieshidden inplain sight.
— and the silences that shape us.
The silences that shape communities. The truths families carry for generations. BCD Theatre brings them to the stage — fusing Bharatanatyam, music, poetry and storytelling to confront the issues no one talks about.
Every community has stories
it keeps behind closed doors.
We open them.
— that's the work.
BCD Theatre occupies the space between what communities experience privately and what is rarely seen on stage. We tell stories rooted in real lives — direct, unflinching, warm but never sanitised. We believe theatre changes things. So we make work that asks audiences not just to watch, but to witness.
Five productions.
One throughline.
— stories that rarely reach the stage.
From immersive performance about domestic violence to a romantic comedy about dating apps, our work spans tone but not purpose. Every show begins with a community story that hasn't found its way to the stage — and ends with an audience that can't unsee it.
And What Will People Say?
An immersive fusion of Indian dance, music and poetry confronting domestic violence in South Asian families. What happens when silence is survival — but speaking out is freedom?
The Algorithm of Us
A sharp, funny and genuinely warm corporate romantic comedy about what we sacrifice in the pursuit of success.
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For the Love of Paper
The rarely told story of the unsuccessful migration. Amaliah faces deportation and contemplates a marriage of convenience.
Behind Closed Doors
A 60-minute immersive performance exploring how abuse manifests in South Asian families. Music, lyrical poetry, and Bharatanatyam.
Bhoomi
A collaboration with Aboriginal author Bruce Pascoe exploring how ancient artistic practices migrate into new communities.
Help us take this story
to Melbourne.
— every contribution counts.
And What Will People Say?has won awards, sold out seasons, and changed conversations about domestic violence in South Asian communities. Now we're taking it to Melbourne — and we need your support to make it happen.
BCD Theatre is a registered project on the Australian Cultural Fund. Donations are tax deductible.
Donate via Australian Cultural Fund →Tax-deductible donations supported by the Australian Cultural Fund
Founded by a storyteller who refused to wait.
— that's how it started.
Behind Closed Doors (BCD) Theatre was founded by Kersherka — known to most as Kersh — an artist, director and producer with over two decades of Bharatanatyam practice and roots in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Her work has reached stages in Sydney, Melbourne, London, Sri Lanka and India.
BCD makes work for and about communities whose stories are still rare in Australian theatre. We work in immersive form because some stories need an audience close enough to feel the weight of them.
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The work, on the record.
Sydney Fringe 2025
Two awards for And What Will People Say? — September 2025 season.
Independent Sydney
Performed at KXT on Broadway, Barangaroo, Burwood, Bankstown and the Sacred Music Festival.
Touring 2026
Melbourne season at fortyfivedownstairs · Sydney Fringe + Lane Cove for new work.
What critics say
The narratives themselves are superbly written, replete with detail that makes us see the moment and feel the pain.
Theatre, when it's created from an honest place, can build empathy by shining a stage light on things that people commonly feel, but rarely speak about, and For the Love of Paper does this masterfully.
A performance that has a genuine capacity to influence change within South Asian communities and public debate more broadly. I sincerely hope it's not the last time it's performed.
Such a collaborative, buoyant work offers critical perspectives on our contemporary positions as immigrant on Indigenous land while celebrating our inextricable links to our homelands.
Events that move us.
Three nights of food, performance and honest conversation — the kind of gatherings that fund the next tour and grow the room our work needs.
Past partners & supporters