The vignettes introduce us to different young people in different situations, yet they are all intrinsically connected. A teenager is questioned by police after breaching his bail to buy instant noodles, while another group of friends who have just broken into a house cling to doli incapax, the legal principle that children under a certain age are presumed incapable of understanding right and wrong.
These scenes don't conclude so much as they simply stop. Their stories are unfinished because the experiences don't end when the lights fade. They continue to be judged by their race, appearance and history. Rather than offering tidy resolutions, Saplings provides snapshots of the resilience, adaptability and resourcefulness these people rely on to navigate their teenage years.
The play is aptly bookended by two scenes centred on friends Kai and Jonty, who dream of forming a musical duo. Growing up on a reserve while contending with poverty and power cuts, they fantasise about (fame and) fortune. Yet beneath their bravado lies something far more modest and heartbreaking: the hope of no longer needing to break into homes for money and being able to help their families pay the bills and have working phones. The conclusion feels slightly rushed, but it embodies Saplings' central optimism, suggesting that these teens can overcome the obstacles in front of them, while recognising how fragile and uncertain that path can be.
Even if a degree of suspension of disbelief is required to accept these actors as 14-year-olds, the performances remain highly convincing. Maliyan Blair, Danny Howard, Sam Harmon and Talijah Blackman-Corowa share a natural chemistry, balancing warmth, humour and emotional honesty across the play's interconnected stories. Although we only spend a short time with each character, the actors bring history to every relationship, as well as to the people they are playing during their commanding monologues.
Michael Weir's composition and sound design give the production its pulse, using music to illustrate the urgency and turbulence of the lives being portrayed. The inclusion of original rap and hip hop, created in collaboration with young people who have engaged with the justice system, ensures their voices are integral to the work and not just reflected on the page.
Co-set designers Angela Doherty and Morgan Moroney present a stark, brutalist landscape of concrete steps and a graffiti-covered wall. Rather than relying on elaborate set changes, a handful of carefully chosen props transform the space for the vignettes, most strikingly a length of netting drawn across the stage to capture the confinement of three youths in custody.
Moroney's lighting design further distinguishes each story, shifting the performers' illumination and the colour palette to alter the atmosphere. Director Abbie-lee Lewis makes excellent use of these design elements, allowing the four actors to transition seamlessly between characters and giving the vignettes their own distinct identity.
Saplings is a reminder that young people are not defined by their worst moments. It challenges audiences to think about what happens when society fails to create the foundations needed for growth, while celebrating the resilience of those who continue to push forward despite the barriers in their way. It is a compassionate work that asks us to not merely acknowledge these people, but to truly see them and listen to them.
Saplings was performed at Arts Centre Melbourne between 31 July - 1 August.
Image credit: Clare Hawley
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