Trent Dalton's
Boy Swallows Universe
Adapted for the stage by Tim McGarry
Directed by Sam Strong
The blockbuster Australian novel comes alive onstage.
Eli Bell’s childhood in the outer Brisbane suburbs is far from the idyllic 1980s haze some kids would remember. His alcoholic dad has shot through, his mum is in jail, his stepfather’s dealing heroin, his brother Gus won't talk and silently swirls cryptic messages in the air with his finger, and his babysitter Slim is a convicted killer and infamous escapee from Boggo Road Gaol.
Beset by chaos on all sides, it’s a run-in with the local crime king and his henchman that sets the 13 year old with the old soul on a journey to find out what kind of man he is going to be.
Boy Swallows Universe is adapted from the smash hit novel inspired by Brisbane author Trent Dalton’s own childhood. It’s an exhilarating story of magic and madness, of beauty and brutality, of joy and heartbreak, and of the power of love to triumph over the darkest of circumstances.
Presented by Queensland Theatre, Brisbane Festival and Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
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Duration3 hrs, inc interval
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TimesEvenings: Mon & Tue 6.30pm, Wed – Sat 7.30pm
Matinees: Wed 1.00pm, Sat 2.00pm -
AccessibilityAuslan Interpreted Mon 6 Sep, 6.30pmAudio Described Sat 18 Sep, 2.00pm
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Play briefing
Mon 23 Aug, 6.00pm
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Night with the Artists
Mon 6 Sep, 6.30pm
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Warning
This play contains coarse language, mature themes and the use of e-cigarettes
-
Duration3 hrs, inc interval
-
TimesEvenings: Mon & Tue 6.30pm, Wed – Sat 7.30pm
Matinees: Wed 1.00pm, Sat 2.00pm -
AccessibilityAuslan Interpreted Mon 6 Sep, 6.30pmAudio Described Sat 18 Sep, 2.00pm
-
Play briefing
Mon 23 Aug, 6.00pm
-
Night with the Artists
Mon 6 Sep, 6.30pm
-
Warning
This play contains coarse language, mature themes and the use of e-cigarettes
Creatives
Author Trent Dalton
Writer Tim McGarry
Director Sam Strong
Designer Renée Mulder
Lighting Designer Ben Hughes
Composer/Sound Designer Steve Francis
Video Designer Craig Wilkinson
Movement Director Nerida Matthaei
Cast
Eli Bell Joe Klocek
August Bell Tom Yaxley
Lyle Orlik /Brian Robertson/Ensemble Anthony Gooley
Frankie Bell/Ensemble Michala Banas
Bich Dang/Mrs Birkbeck/Ensemble Ngoc Phan
Darren Dang/Ensemble Hoa Xuande
Slim Halliday/Tytus Broz/Ensemble Anthony Phelan
Iwan Krol/ Alex Bermudez/Ensemble Joss McWilliam
Caitlyn Spies/Shelley/Ensemble Ashlee Lollback
Robert Bell/Ensemble Mathew Cooper
Teddy Kallas/Ensemble Andrew Buchanan
Ensemble Hsin-Ju Ely
Ensemble Charles Ball
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