A profoundly moving new play from celebrated company, Belloo, Queensland Theatre presents Back to Bilo, in the Bille Brown Theatre from 3 – 16 September, as part of the 2025 Brisbane Festival.
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.
Their community welcomed the new family with open arms – until four years later, after an unexpected knock at the door, they were ripped away in a dawn raid.
The family’s story could have ended there, but a brave band of Biloela women weren’t giving up so easily. Fighting alongside the young refugee family, the women launched a grassroots campaign that galvanised hundreds of thousands of ordinary Australians demanding the family be brought back home.
This is the remarkable true account of one family’s ordeal in the nightmare limbo of immigration detention, a story proving that love is stronger than fear and that persistence and togetherness can win against crushing odds.
Based on an original concept by Matt Scholten and written by Katherine Lyall-Watson, Back to Bilo is directed by Caroline Dunphy and features Liz Buchanan, Matt Domingo, Sarah McIntosh, Erika Naddei, Menaka Thomas, Leah Vandenberg, Janaki Gerard and Sudhesh Somu.
“A must-see production about the triumph of the human spirit and the power of community.” – Cathy Hunt, Women of the World Festival
Back to Bilo
Bille Brown Theatre, 78 Montague Road, South Brisbane
Season: 3 – 16 September 2025
Information and Bookings: www.queenslandtheatre.com.au
Image: Priya and Nades – photo by Stephanie Coombes