by Liam Aungle*
Last week, Giving Culture attended SAPLINGS, an Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) production as part of the Sydney Festival. It’s always a pleasure to experience live shows at the stunning Rebel Theatre, ATYP’s new harbourside home on Pier 2/3, and this play was certainly no exception. Told as a series of vignettes, SAPLINGS explores the experiences of young people interacting with Australia’s justice system. Both heartbreaking and unexpectedly funny, the show captured our attention from the outset, with compassionate writing and compelling performances across the board. While the run of SAPLINGS has come to an end, ATYP has made a strong start to its 2024 season.
If you haven’t had a chance to see an ATYP production yet, make sure you follow ATYP on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn.
What did the critics think of ATYP’s SAPLINGS?
Here is a selection of reviews:
Review: Saplings (ATYP)
“Saplings delivers the full humanity of those labelled “wayward youth” or “juvenile delinquents”, often with great humour, offering authentic insight that prevents any viewer from regarding them as contemptible. Directed by Abbie-lee Lewis, we find ourselves instinctively developing affection for these vibrant souls, able to connect with each of them, beyond every boundary, whether they pertain to age, class or race.”
– Suzy Wrong, Suzy Goes See
Review: Saplings at The Rebel Theatre
“Some of these stories are laugh-out-loud funny. Some are heartbreaking. Many are both. All of them feel real.”
“Belanszky has written a raw and beautiful script that feels like it’s brimming with the voices of young people.”
“Saplings is just a gorgeous production, made with precision, skill, thought and a whole lot of heart. And like the very best theatre it entertains from start to end, while leaving its audience with plenty to think about.”
– Giddy Pillai, Theatre Travels
★★★★½ Theatre review: Saplings, Sydney Festival Stories of young people in the youth justice system.
“The stories are performed by four young actors, Maliyan Blair, Nyasha Ogden, Ioane Sa’ula and Wesley Patten, each of whom is called upon to demonstrate their aptitude for comedy and drama. They are all incredibly talented and charismatic, with assurance that belies their intimidating youth. Credit must also go to director Abbie-lee Lewis for translating this raw talent into a coherent whole.”
“In the course of researching Saplings, Yuwaalaraay playwright Hannah Belanszky spent a year travelling NSW speaking to young people who had experienced the justice system in some way… Belanszky aimed to write fiction grounded in the real lives of young people.”
– Ned Hirst, Arts Hub
★★★★
THEATRE
Saplings, ATYP
“…Belanszky’s script stitches together the complexities of the system into a delicate story of challenge and possibility.”
“Humour, often self-deprecating, is never far from the surface, and so is ingenuity and resilience, expressed in quick fire backchat and physicality. The words fly past. Catch ’em if you can.”
– Harriet Cunningham, Sydney Morning Herald
★★★★★
SYDNEY FESTIVAL : ATYP : SAPLINGS : STORIES FROM THE YOUTH JUSTICE SYSTEM
“SAPLINGS is a terrific title. Young bending branches, Young and slender, with a way to go in their growing. They need light, water, and appropriate support to get there.”
“Directed so sensitively by Abbie-lee Lewis, we cannot but be moved by the engaging exchanges of the characters. Four wonderful young actors play all the parts, simply reset with a costume change and basic set pieces or lighting shifts beautifully designed by Morgan Moroney. They have all the nuanced charisma of the original story-tellers, no doubt. They are funny, charming, hopeless dreamers.”
– Elizabeth Surbey, Sydney Arts Guide
* Liam Aungle is a Marketing Associate at Giving Culture