A young man in a red hooded jacket and plaid pants sits on a dark cube in a dimly lit, industrial-looking space with a concrete background and overhead lights.
Australian Theatre for Young People

Saplings

By Hannah Belanszky

After premiering at Sydney Festival 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.

Two men silhouetted against an orange and blue-lit wall, one holding a phone with its flashlight on, illuminating the space, while the other looks over his shoulder.

★★★★ “A delicate story of challenge and possibility... carefully and respectfully crafted... embodies the reality of youth justice today.”

Sydney Morning Herald

ABOUT THE SHOW

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 for a night of laughter, tears, and celebration of the survival instincts of young people.

REVIEWS

★★★★★ “These young people need our time and compassion... this play is authentic, raw, brutal, and very moving... funny, charming, hopeless dreamers.”
- Sydney Arts Guide

★★★★1/2 “Moving, upsetting and, perhaps unexpectantly, strikingly funny... an example of art transcending tragic personal circumstances.”
- ArtsHub

★★★★ 
- Suzy Goes See

“Belanszky has written a raw and beautiful script that feels like it's brimming with the voices of young people... a gorgeous production, made with precision, skill, thought and a whole lot of heart.”
- Theatre Travels

“Immersive and honest."
- Honi Soit

Production photography by Clare Hawley.

Three young adults in a dimly lit, theatrical setting with a textured brown backdrop: a man in blue and white athletic attire looking at a phone, a man in a gray sweatshirt squatting, and a woman in a black hoodie holding a small object.
Two young men sit side by side on a concrete structure, illuminated by cool lighting. The man on the left wears a white "USA" t-shirt and holds a phone, while the man on the right dons a gray Champion hoodie. They sit facing each other.
Three young men on a dark stage with a basketball court-like backdrop: two seated on the left, one with a basketball, the third standing on the right in black shorts and a baseball cap, all wearing athletic-style clothing.
A young man in a grey Champion hoodie and black shorts, mid-air in an acrobatic pose, arms outstretched, hands gesturing "rock on", mouth open, lit by red and blue stage lighting with a foggy background.
Producer and funding logos for ATYP's production of 'Saplings'

Touring

July - September 2026

CREDITS
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

If you are interested in touring get in contact!

Arts on Tour
02 8038 1880
touring@artsontour.com.au