Belvoir will present acclaimed theatre director Simon Phillips’ new adaptation of Max Porter’s bestselling novel, Grief is the Thing With Feathers, in the Upstairs Theatre from 26 July 2025.
Two young boys full of energy and curiosity, try to make sense of their mother’s sudden death. Their father, with the soul of a poet, is struggling to find the words. Then Crow arrives – strange, loud, funny, and unsettling.
Part babysitter, part nuisance, part unlikely guide. Crow, like a gothic Mary Poppins, brings chaos and comfort in equal measure. Is he real? Is he imagined? Did this odd bird come to a grieving family because they needed him? Or is he something they made?
Co-adapted by Phillips, Nick Schlieper and Toby Schmitz, Grief is the Thing With Feathers is an imaginative and poetic take on how a family navigates loss, starring Schmitz (Netflix’s Boy Swallows Universe, The Dance of Death), alongside Philip Lynch (Never Closer) and Fraser Morrison (Disney’s The Last Days of the Space Age).
“The dad in this story knows his Ted Hughes poetry well, and it’s from Hughes that the character of Crow emerges. The book has legions of fans, and after you’ve heard the mercurial Toby Schmitz tell this tale of loss and life, you’ll be in their ranks. It’s dark, then it’s beautifully bright. And you’re in the hands of some of the country’s most celebrated and experienced theatre makers. A gem,” said Belvoir Artistic Director Eamon Flack.
The production is the second of three literary adaptations premiering in Belvoir’s 2025 season. It follows Eamon Flack’s sell-out adaptation of Helen Garner’s award-winning novel The Spare Room. The final work in the trilogy, Carissa Licciardello and Elsie Yager’s joyous adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s queer classic Orlando, hits the stage this August.
Profoundly beautiful and poignant, this fresh reimagining of Porter’s exquisite prose poem is not to be missed.
Director: Simon Phillips | Featuring: Philip Lynch, Fraser Morrison, Toby Schmitz | Composer and Musician: Freya Schack-Armott | Set Design: Simon Phillips, Nick Schlieper | Lighting Design: Nick Schlieper | Costume Design: Ella Butler | Sound Designer: Daniel Herten | Video Designer: Craig Wilkinson | Illustrator: Jon Weber | Assistant Director: Margaret Thanos | Voice Coach: Laura Farrell | Fight Coach: Diego Retamales | Stage Manager: Sam Illingworth | Assistant Stage Manager: Clare Edmonds-Wilson | Co-Producer: Andrew Henry | Co-Adaptors: Simon Phillips, Nick Schlieper, Toby Schmitz
Grief is the Thing with Feathers
Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir Street, Surry Hills
Season: 30 July – 24 August 2025 (previews: 26 – 29 July)
Information and Bookings: www.belvoir.com.au
Image: Toby Schmitz stars in Grief is the Thing with Feathers (supplied)