Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) presents
Saplings
by Hannah Belanszky

Stories from the law and justice system

“I wasn’t there ‘cause I wanted to be, I was there ‘cause I had to be, okay? If Josh hadn’t eaten my noodles, I wouldn’t be here.”

Would you risk breaking bail for a packet of Mi Goreng? Would you snitch on a mate to save your own skin? Around here, ordinary days can turn on you so fast you’ve still got a smile on your face as your hopes die in your hands.

Yani wants to go to the Easter Show, Kai wants a sense of home, Shanika wants her Mum back, and Lachlan…well, he just wants his bowl of noodles. But when the justice system is all that stands between these young people and what they want, it raises an important question—how do young people grow when the system keeps cutting them down?

After premiering at The Rebel Theatre for the Sydney Festival in 2024 and winning Sydney Theatre Award’s Best Production for Young People, Yuwaalaray playwright Hannah Belanszky and Kalkadoon director Abbie-lee Lewis bring Saplings to the stage once again, a collection of hilarious and heartbreaking stories born from workshops with young people experiencing the youth justice system from Marrickville to Moree. Four talented young actors take on multiple roles in this poetic, personal, and unexpected production that will leave you asking who’s really to blame.

Set to a soundtrack of rap and hip-hop music made by young people in the youth justice system, Saplings gives an honest, raw look into the adult consequences faced by some of our most vulnerable. Join us at BMEC for a show full of laughter, tears, and celebration of the survival instincts of young people.

★★★★

Sydney Morning Herald

“A delicate story of challenge and possibility”

“Carefully and respectfully crafted”

“Embodies the reality of youth justice today”

★★★★★

Sydney Arts Guide

“These young people need our time and compassion”

“This play is authentic, raw, brutal, and very moving”

“Funny, charming, hopeless dreamers”

★★★★1/2

ArtsHub

“Moving, upsetting and, perhaps unexpectantly, strikingly funny”

“An example of art transcending tragic personal circumstances”

Creative Team 

Writer- Hannah Belanszky
Director- Abbie-lee Lewis
Associate- Director Ryan Whitworth-Jones
Dramaturg – Jane FitzGerald
Co-Set & Costume Designer – Angela Doherty
Co-Set & Lighting Designer – Morgan Moroney
Composer & Sound Designer – Michael Weir
Fight Director – Tim Dashwood
Production Manager – Harry Dowling
Stage Manager – Milly Grindrod
Producer – Hayden Tonazzi
Associate Producer – Ryan Whitworth-Jones
Workshop Facilitator George Kemp