Queensland Theatre and Belloo Creative present the world premiere of Back to Bilo as part of Brisbane Festival 2025 – an affecting work of verbatim theatre about the Nadesalingam family and the community that fought to bring them home to Biloela.

Nades and Priya arrived separately in Australia as Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers. They went on to marry, settle, and have two daughters in the small Queensland town of Biloela. When the family were taken into custody by the Australian Border Force in a 2018 dawn raid, a day after their visas lapsed, their community was in disbelief.

Friends and neighbours launched a campaign to bring them “Home to Bilo,” which soon gained momentum across Australia. Even so, the family spent four years in detention, including two years on Christmas Island. By the time they were released, their youngest daughter had spent more than half her life in detention. In 2022 the family were granted permanent residency and resettled in Biloela.

Back to Bilo is written by Belloo Creative co-founder Katherine Lyall-Watson, from an original concept by Matt Scholten, who began working with the Biloela community and conducting initial interviews in 2019.

Leah Vandenberg and Matt Domingo in Back to Bilo. Photo © Morgan Roberts

Directed by Belloo co-founder Caroline Dunphy, with dramaturgy by Kathryn Kelly, the play begins with the actors introducing themselves and the characters they will portray. Priya and Nades’ lives in Sri Lanka are sketched through brief narration, explaining their decision to make the dangerous journey to Australia by boat as refugees. As verbatim theatre, the text is drawn from interviews with Priya and Nades, as well as their friends and advocates.

Matt Domingo and Leah Vandenberg depict Nades and Priya with naturalism, moving between frustration, despair, and determined hope, with accent coaching by Melissa Agnew. Priya and Nades’ young daughters, Kopika and Tharnicaa, appear only in video footage.

Menaka Thomas plays Uru, an embodiment of Priya’s inner life and strength, and her singing and stage presence resonate throughout the theatre. Liz Buchanan, Sarah McIntosh, and Erika Naddei portray Biloela women Bronwyn, Simone, and Angela as salt-of-the-earth country folk; their performances ring with emotional sincerity, especially Naddei’s.

Set and lighting design by Govin Ruben uses a rotating set of simple doorways on a mechanism resembling a Hills Hoist. Costumes and props by Keerthi Subramanyam allow for clear visual changes between characters. One striking moment transforms the audience into a candlelit vigil with flameless candles.

Back to Bilo. Photo © Morgan Roberts

Video design by Mic Gruchy – featuring content shot in Biloela by Shaun Charles, footage from interviews and rallies, and clips from television programs such as Q+A and The Project – is projected onto the proscenium and back wall. However, the corner stage of the Bille Brown Theatre warped some images and reduced visibility from the side seats.

The use of real footage and audio from the family’s time in detention is confronting, while videos of Biloela, from bird’s-eye views to birds in the trees, add a strong sense of place. Sound design and composition by Guy Webster, with additional composition by Menaka Thomas and sound realisation by Brady Watkins, expands the setting with bird calls, sirens, ringing phones and Uru’s songs.

Back to Bilo highlights how the Nadesalingam family became a political football, their release dependent on party promises. The 2019 federal election is portrayed as a horse race, with the cast offering amusing impressions of several politicians. The work also shows the effectiveness of sustained grassroots campaigns and community organising.

The 70-minute play closes on a hopeful and heartwarming note, with video footage of Priya, Nades, and their daughters at home, including scenes from the food truck they recently opened.

A moving story of resilience and resistance, Back to Bilo is a call to action in every sense. It reminds audiences that thousands of asylum seekers remain in similar, precarious positions, while telling the true story of the Nadesalingam family’s ordeal with due care and compassion.

Back to Bilo plays in the Bille Brown Theatre until 16 September. A Brisbane Festival event.