A Belloo Production

BACK TO BILO

Produced by Performing Lines

Photo by Stephanie Coombes.

A true-life testimony to people-power and persistence

Priya and Nades left war-torn Sri Lanka and found each other in regional Queensland. They married, had two daughters, worked hard and settled into a simple but happy country life.

The community welcomed them with open arms — but four years later came a knock at the door and they were ripped away in a dawn raid.

Their story could have ended there, but a brave band of Biloela women weren’t giving up on them so easily.

Fighting alongside the young refugee family, they launched a grassroots, people-powered campaign that galvanised hundreds of thousands of ordinary Australians to demand the family be brought back to Bilo. This is the remarkable true account of one family’s ordeal in the nightmare limbo of immigration detention, a story of how love is stronger than fear and of how persistence and togetherness can win against crushing odds.

Back to Bilo is a profoundly moving new play from celebrated local company Belloo (Boy, Lost) and is made with — and from — the heart of regional Queensland.

"A must-see production about the triumph of the human spirit and the power of community." — Cathy Hunt, Women of the World Festival

Book Your Darwin Festival Tickets

  • Duration: 70 minutes

    Content warning: This production includes loud noises, flashing lights, blackout, haze, and mature content and themes such as war, detention, and children in distress.

    Recommended age: 14+

  • Darwin Festival 2026

    CREATIVES

    Writer Katherine Lyall-Watson
    Director Caroline Dunphy
    Original Concept Matt Scholten
    Dramaturg Kathryn Kelly
    Production Design (Lighting & Set) Govin Ruben
    Costume and Props Design Keerthi Subramanyam
    Sound Design Guy Webster
    Composers Guy Webster & Menaka Thomas
    Associate Lighting Design Suzy Brooks
    Video Design Mic Gruchy
    AV Design Associate Jeremy Gordon
    Videographer (Biloela Video Content) Shaun Charles
    Producer (Performing Lines) Vanessa Wright
    Foyer Installation Artist Charlotte Haywood
    Design Associate (Set) Max Bowyer

    CREW

    Production Manager Jason Thelwell
    Stage Manager Mikayla Hosking
    Assistant Stage Managers Tia-Hanee Cleary

    CAST

    Liz Buchanan
    Janaki Gerard
    Sarah McIntosh
    Sarah Ogden
    Sahil Saluja
    Menaka Thomas

    Brisbane Festival 2025

    CREATIVES

    Writer Katherine Lyall-Watson
    Director Caroline Dunphy
    Original Concept Matt Scholten
    Dramaturg Kathryn Kelly
    Production Design (Lighting & Set) Govin Ruben
    Costume and Props Design Keerthi Subramanyam
    Sound Design Guy Webster
    Composers Guy Webster & Menaka Thomas
    Sound Realiser Brady Watkins
    Video Designer Mic Gruchy
    Videographer (Biloela Video Content) Shaun Charles
    Tamil Cultural Consultants Vashini Jayakumar & Sudhesh Somu
    Assistant Director Janaki Gerard
    Producer Performing Lines
    Producer (Belloo) Kristen Maloney
    Foyer Installation Artist Charlotte Haywood
    Design Associate (Set) Max Bowyer
    Accent Coach Melissa Agnew
    Tamil Language Consultants Vashini Jayakumar & Dr Gunalan Shanmuganathan
    Dramaturgical Mentee Jai Bofinger

    CREW

    Production Manager Jason Thelwell
    Stage Manager Mikayla Hosking
    Assistant Stage Managers Tia-Hanee Cleary & Teddy Waddingham

    CAST

    Liz Buchanan
    Matt Domingo
    Sarah McIntosh
    Erika Naddei
    Menaka Thomas
    Leah Vandenberg
    Cover Janaki Gerard
    Cover Sudhesh Somu

    VIDEO & PHOTOGRAPHY

    Trailer VIVID Visual Co.
    Rehearsal & Production Images Morgan Roberts
    Opening Night Images Josh Moore Media
    Community Night Images Cinnamon Smith
    Community Night Videography VIVID Visual Co.

  • 7–8 August 2026 | Darwin Festival | The Playhouse at AANT Centre | Darwin, Australia

    3–16 September 2025 | Brisbane Festival | Bille Brown Theatre, Queensland Theatre | Brisbane, Australia

  • This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative, managed by Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc commissioned by Brisbane Festival, Darwin Festival, Perth Festival and Queensland Theatre Company.

    The foyer installation and cultural consultancy were supported by the Dr Don Batchelor Award, granted by the Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice.

    Back to Bilo Mentorship Program is supported through the Australian Cultural Fund and received matched funds via the ACF Boost Program.

    Licensed material used in this production has been sourced from the You Have Been Told a Lie podcast. We acknowledge Thinesh Thillainadarajah and Jay Ooi as the creators of the podcast. Used with permission from Shoes Off Productions Pty Ltd. © Shoes Off Productions Pty Ltd, 2023.

    The WOW Festival play reading in Biloela was supported by WOW Australia and Brisbane Festival.

    The 2024 regional development and showing was supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and Queensland Theatre.

    The 2023 trip to Biloela and Gladstone was made possible thanks to a Festivals Australia Grant from the Australian Government.

    The 2022 development was supported by Brisbane City Council’s Creative Sparks program, a partnership between the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council to support local arts and culture in Brisbane.

    In 2022, Katherine Lyall-Watson and Matt Scholten were also supported by the Australian Plays Transform Duologue Program.

  • FINALIST Best Mainstage Production, Matilda Awards 2025 (Back to Bilo)

    FINALIST Best Ensemble, Matilda Awards 2025 (Back to Bilo)

    FINALIST Best Video Design, Matilda Awards 2025 (Mic Gruchy)

    FINALIST Best Direction, Matilda Awards 2025 (Caroline Dunphy)

    FINALIST The Lord Mayor’s Award for Best New Australian Work, Matilda Awards 2025 (Katherine Lyall-Watson — Playwright)

THE REVIEWS ARE IN

★★★★½ “Back to Bilo is a powerful piece of theatre with connection, care and community at its core.” — ArtsHub

★★★★ “A moving story of resilience and resistance, Back to Bilo is a call to action in every sense.” — Limelight

“The remarkable story of the Nadesalingams and Biloela makes for compelling theatre” — The Guardian

“Profound and inspiring… it’s an absolute highlight of this year’s Brisbane Festival.” — InDaily Queensland

“This theatrical piece is about the power of a rural community, but also the strength of a collaborative theatrical community.” — Stage Whispers

“Writer Katherine Lyall-Watson’s crafting of the script in line with the conventions of verbatim theatre and director Caroline Dunphy’s delicate treatment of sensitive material resulted in a play that was a compact and well-paced powerhouse production.” — Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane

video trailer

GALLERY

MAKING OF BACK TO BILO

Originally developed under the title HAVEN: Home to Bilo, Back to Bilo was created hand-in-hand with Priya, Nades, their family, and the Biloela community. Over four years, the creative team made numerous trips to Biloela — sharing cups of chai, recording hundreds of hours of interviews, and holding play readings — all supported by deep cultural consultation and collaboration. The dedication of the cast, creatives, and community has shaped a work that carries the resilience, persistence, and determination of a family and town who refused to give up.

“Matt Scholten has been working for over two and a half years on a theatre project that tells the true story of my family and my home community of Biloela. Matt has the permission and support of my family and the people of Biloela who have supported us and helped us receive permanent visas to remain in Australia. I have fully supported Matt and Katherine’s work so far and hope that they will be able to keep working on the project and wish them every success.”  - Priya Nadesalingam

  • Brisbane City Council's Creative Sparks program funded a creative development in 2022. We were thrilled to have Simone Cameron from the Home to Bilo campaign team join us in the development room and to have Priya Nadesalingam and Bronwyn Dendle join us via Zoom. 

    DEVELOPMENT CAST
    Kerith Atkinson
    Barbara Lowing
    Michael Mandalios
    Steven Rooke
    Jessica Veurman

  • The rehearsed reading of the first draft of HAVEN: Home to Bilo (working title) took place at the Biloela ANZAC Memorial Club on the 20 of July, 2023, for an invited audience of Home to Bilo campaigners and the Nadesalingam family. This was followed by an excerpt of the play shared at the Flourish Festival in Gladstone on the 22 of July, 2023.

    DEVELOPMENT CAST
    Stephen Geronimos
    Zoe Houghton
    Monica Kumar
    Steven Rooke
    Hsiao-Ling Tang
    Jessica Veurman

    CREATIVES
    Dramaturg Kathryn Kelly
    Video Artist Shaun Charles
    Tamil Cultural Advisor & Translator Vashini Riswan

  • From February 19 to 28, Belloo and the creative team spent eight inspiring days in the studio at Shake & Stir Theatre, collaborating with talented artists including Leah Vandenberg, Matt Domingo, Janaki Gerard, Zoe Houghton, Hsiao-Ling Tang, Michael Tuahine, Jessica Veurman, Guy Webster, Esther Elder, and Kathryn Kelly. After this intensive studio period, we traveled to Biloela, joined by Peter Cossar, Shaun Charles, and the project’s originator, Matt Scholten. From 29 February to 3 March, we hosted a well-received gathering in Biloela, culminating in a rehearsed reading at the Anzac Club on 2 March.

    In Biloela, we had the honour of sharing our work-in-progress with Priya, Nades, Simone, Angela, Bronwyn, and the Bring Priya, Nades, and Their Girls Home to Biloela community. We are profoundly grateful for the warm welcome and the insightful conversations that emerged.

  • HAVEN: Home to Bilo (working title) had its third public reading at Queensland Theatre and the Biloela WOW Festival.

    Following a two-day rehearsal at Queensland Theatre, we traveled to Biloela, where HAVEN: Home to Bilo proudly opened the WOW Festival on 31 May.

    CREATIVES
    Writer & Co-Creator Katherine Lyall-Watson
    Director & Co-Creator Caroline Dunphy
    Originator & Co-Creator Matt Scholten
    Tamil Cultural Advisors and Translators Vashini Riswan & Thinesh Thillainadarajah
    Composer & Sound Designer Guy Webster
    Dramaturg Kathryn Kelly
    Associate Producer Emily Coleman

    DEVELOPMENT CAST
    Priya & Ensemble Leah Vandenberg
    Nades & Ensemble Matt Domingo
    Vashini & Ensemble Janaki Gerard
    Bronwyn & Ensemble Zoe Houghton
    Angela & Ensemble Hsiao-Ling Tang
    Simone & Ensemble Jessica Veurman
    Politicians & Ensemble Michael Tuahini

  • In the lead-up to the holiday break, Belloo held a two-week design development for Back to Bilo at Queensland Theatre. This intensive process brought together Co-Composer and Sound Designer Guy Webster, Production Designer Govin Ruben, Video Designer Mic Gruchy, Costume and Prop Designer Keerthi Subramanyam, Director Caroline Dunphy, Assistant Director Janaki Gerard, and Writer Katherine Lyall-Watson to explore how this powerful story could be brought from page to stage.

    The December development placed a spotlight on the design process—an essential phase in realising a theatrical work. Back to Bilo integrates original score and video design with live performance, a transformative set, and detailed costumes and props to create an experience that brings audiences into the heart of the family's journey.

    CREATIVES
    Written by Katherine Lyall-Watson
    Directed by Caroline Dunphy
    Original Concept by Matt Scholten
    Tamil Cultural Advisors Sudhesh Somu & Vashini Jayakumar
    Produced by Performing Lines
    Producer (Belloo) Kristen Maloney
    Dramaturg Dr Kathryn Kelly
    Assistant Director Janaki Gerard
    Production Designer (Lighting & Set) Govin Ruben
    Costume & Props Designer Keerthi Subramanyam
    Co-Composer and Sound Designer Guy Webster
    Co-Composer Menaka Thomas
    Video Designer Mic Gruchy
    Biloela Video Content Shaun Charles
    Production Manager Katherine Harch