Stories from the law and justice system

Winner of Best Production for Young People at the 2024 Sydney Theatre Awards

Saplings is a powerful, funny and deeply human work drawn from real stories of young people who have experienced the youth justice system, brought to QPAC with honesty, heart and hope.

Yani wants to go to the Easter Show. Kai is searching for a sense of home. Shanika wants her mum back. Lachlan just wants a bowl of noodles. But when the justice system stands in the way, a bigger question emerges: what happens when the very system meant to support young people keeps holding them back?

Written by Yuwaalaray playwright Hannah Belanszky and directed by Kalkadoon artist Abbie-lee Lewis, Saplings is drawn from workshops and interviews with incarcerated youth from Marrickville to Moree, set to a soundtrack of original rap and hip-hop created by young people inside the system. Four dynamic performers bring multiple characters to life in a work that is as sharp and entertaining as it is moving.

A raw, poetic celebration of First Nations creativity and young people finding their voice against the odds.