It has been announced that Pilot Theatre, in co-production with York Theatre, will stage the world premiere of award-winning Australian playwright S. Shakthidharan’s adaptation of The Bone Sparrow, from 25 February 2022.

Zana Fraillon’s beautiful, vivid, and deeply moving story about a Rohingya refugee boy who has spent his entire life living in a detention centre in Australia will be directed by Pilot Theatre’s Artistic Director Esther Richardson, and will premiere at York Theatre Royal from 25 February–5 March 2022 before embarking on a national tour.

Subhi is a refugee. Born in an Australian permanent detention centre after his mother fled the violence of a distant homeland, life behind the fences is all he has ever known. But as he grows, his imagination gets bigger too, until it is bursting at the limits of his world. 

One night, Jimmie, a scruffy, impatient girl appears from the other side of the wires, and brings a notebook written by the mother she lost. Unable to read it, she relies on Subhi to unravel her own family's mysterious and moving history. 

Subhi and Jimmie might both find a way to freedom, as their tales unfold. But not until each of them has been braver than ever before. 

Director and Artistic director of Pilot Theatre Esther Richardson added: “The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon captured my imagination instantly and moved me in a way few books have before or since. It has been nothing but a privilege to shape this international theatre project with Pilot, which seeks, not only to set this sublimely imaginative, moving, and urgent tale free, but to raise awareness, most especially in young people, about the current situation with child detention, and the plight of the Rohingya. Pilot always takes on projects that aim to open the power, possibility, and complexity of the world for audiences. We seek to activate critical thinking as well as compassion and I can’t imagine a more timely or theatrically prescient project than this for our audiences as we return to mid-scale touring.” 

The production will be designed by Miriam Nabarro and will feature music composed by British-Asian clarinettist Arun Ghosh. Casting will be announced later this year.

Following its York run, The Bone Sparrow will visit Bury St Edmunds, Derby, Colchester, and Coventry.

For more information and to book tickets, please click here.