By Helen Musa

The Australian Theatre for Young People has been giving young Australians a voice since 1963, creating theatre by and for young people that champions their stories, perspectives and potential.

Now the company is bringing its production of Saplings to The Q, Queanbeyan, a work which has been described as authentic, raw, brutal and deeply moving.

Playwright Hannah Belanszky spent a year travelling around NSW speaking with young people who had experienced the justice system through encounters with police, the courts or periods of detention. 

While Saplings is fictional, it is firmly grounded in their lived experiences, posing confronting questions such as: would you snitch on a mate to save your own skin?

Premiering at Sydney Festival in 2024 at The Rebel Theatre, the play went on to win the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Production for Young People. Belanszky and director Abbie-lee Lewis now bring the production back to the stage, weaving together hilarious and heartbreaking stories developed through workshops with young people who have experienced the youth justice system across NSW.

Structured as a series of interconnected vignettes and accompanied by music created by young people within the justice system, the play paints a picture of lives shaped by forces often beyond their control where something as ordinary as a packet of mi goreng noodles or a broken mobile phone can become the difference between freedom and incarceration. 

A day can change in an instant, leaving hopes shattered. There is also the endless frustration of legal processes, unreliable lawyers and the boredom of waiting for decisions that will shape their futures.

Yani wants to go to the Easter Show, Kai is searching for a sense of home, Shanika longs to have her mum back, and Lachlan simply wants his bowl of noodles. But when the justice system stands between these young people and the lives they hope for, the play asks how they can possibly grow when the system keeps cutting them down.

Four actors, Talijah Blackman-Corowa, Maliyan Blair, Sam Harmon and Danny Howard, take on multiple roles, bringing to life the stories of young Australians battling a legal system that, the play argues, is stacked against them.

Director Abbie-lee Lewis says the issues explored in Saplings remain as urgent as ever.

“In 2022, Raise the Age Australia debated whether a child could be held criminally responsible at the age of 10. In 2026, some Australian states have implemented Adult Crime, Adult Time laws. The conversation continues, but it’s not happening with the people it directly affects, the young people,” she says.

Saplings, at The Q, Queanbeyan, August 22.

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