The play based on my book Detention is coming to theatres in November 2025 thanks to the extraordinary Monkey Baa Theatre Co. Bookings and info here. Starting at Parramatta Riverside Theatre 11-14 November, the production moves on to Wagga Wagga 18 November, Leeton 21 November and Bathurst 25 November, with sessions for schools and general public.
I hope you can make it along or tell your friends and educators you know in those areas that it’s on! If all goes well, the play will tour other states in 2026.
Detention was a CBCA Notable Book, won the YABBA and KOALA Children’s Choice awards, was shortlisted for the ABIA, NSW Premier’s and QLD Literary Awards and is being brought to the stage by Monkey Baa’s Eva Di Cesare in partnership with playwrights Kobra Sayyadi and Callan Purcell and director Randa Sayed.
Here is Monkey Baa’s description of the play:
Detention tells the compelling tale of two young people from disparate worlds finding each other amidst a figurative minefield: Sima, a Hazara refugee fleeing a detention centre when her visa has been rejected, and Dan, a marginalised boy raised in a caravan park in regional Australia. Their shared quest for a sense of home and safety binds them together.
Based on the novel by Tristan Bancks, this production explores the refugee experience, centring on themes of displacement, belonging and shared humanity. Developed in collaboration with Hazara artists and young people, Detention seeks to ignite conversations, using theatre as a catalyst for truth-telling and change.
