AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

IT’S EASY FOR YOU TO ACCUSE ME NOW BUT YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND.
EVERYONE LIVED LIKE WE DID! WELL MAYBE NOT ‘EVERYONE’, EVERYONE.
BUT… I WASN’T ANY WORSE THAN ANYONE ELSE.

The near future. The heat is stifling. The air is unbreathable. The climate emergency is escalating and there’s going to be a reckoning as those responsible are held to account for the damage done. The jurors? Teenagers.

A jury of young people weigh up the fate of adult defendants, each of whom attempts to defend their carbon footprint and its devastating consequences. But are the jury delivering justice, or just taking revenge? Confronting, shocking, and searingly relevant, The Trials grapples with the burning questions of our age – what kind of planet are we leaving for our children? Will they condemn us for not taking action when we had the chance? And will they be justified?

The Trials was first performed at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus in January 2022, followed by a West End run at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in August. In 2023, Canberra Youth Theatre will stage the Australian premiere of one of the most urgent and galvanising plays of our time.

★★★★ “A gripping climate dystopia… compelling and fascinating… a parable about the near future that’s also an unsettling window into the vertiginous chaos of revolution.” – Time Out London

“Compelling… it holds us in its grip… a play that demands self-reflection and soul-searching beyond the auditorium.” – The Guardian UK