Saplings: A new play gives voice to the silent realities of Australia's youth justice system

Playwright Hannah Belanszky has premiered the production *Saplings* at the Sydney Opera House, a work that brings the often-invisible experiences of Australian children navigating the justice system to the forefront. Commissioned by Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP), the play is currently running ahead of a planned national tour, aiming to humanise young people involved with the law while highlighting the specific challenges faced by Indigenous youth.

The foundation of the work lies in a year of intensive research conducted by Belanszky across youth centres and juvenile detention facilities in New South Wales. Locations included the Midjuburi Youth Resource Centre in Marrickville, Miyay Birray Youth Services in Moree, and the Reiby Youth Justice Centre in south-western Sydney. Rather than relying on formal interviews, Belanszky discovered that the young people she encountered primarily wanted to have fun and connect with peers, leading her to abandon initial drama games in favour of informal interactions like eating pizza and hanging out.

The resulting script is a collage of brief, real-life scenarios that expose the absurdity and severity of the systems these young people must navigate. The narrative features a hungry teen who breaches house arrest to buy instant noodles after his stepbrother consumes the last food, and another boy trapped under house arrest while simultaneously subject to an AVO preventing him from being in the same room as a household member. These scenes illustrate the Kafkaesque nature of children's court processes and the daily struggles of maintaining a normal life under strict legal constraints.

Approximately 60 per cent of young people aged 10 to 17 in detention are First Nations, a figure noted as an increase on recent years. To ensure cultural context and care in handling these stories, the production is helmed by First Nations playwright Hannah Belanszky and director Abbie-lee Lewis. Belanszky emphasised the importance of a First Nations writer behind the text given the statistics, ensuring the long history and context of the relationship between these young people and the law are understood and respected.

The impact of the work was evident during workshops at six youth justice centres in NSW, where cast member Danny Howard invited young people to perform alongside him. ATYP artistic director Hayden Tonazzi described a moment at one centre where nearly 10 young people performed scenes as the highest praise for the work. For Belanszky, seeing the young people she met in the front row at the 2024 premiere and hearing them describe the story as relatable confirmed that the writing had successfully spoken to their reality.

Following its opening, the production aims to continue this dialogue through a national tour. By focusing on the playfulness, loyalty, and love of the young people rather than just their trauma, *Saplings* offers a nuanced perspective on a critical social issue, bridging the gap between the justice system and the community it serves.