Young actors tackle the tough issues of life as a refugee in a new Rondo Theatre play.

IFTEEN young, talented and enthusiastic actors from North Queensland Academy of Dramatic Art are on stage at the Rondo Theatre this month performing the thought-provoking and sometimes humorous play Boy Overboard, written by Morris Gleitzman and adapted by Patricia Cornelius.

Jamal, played by Anaeas Taylor, and Bibi, played by Caitlin Hodgeman, are forced to leave their homeland, Afghanistan, because their parents have been discovered breaking the law by educating young women.

They flee to Indonesia where the children are separated from their parents at the wharf.

Jamal and Bibi don’t know if they will see their parents again, and so begins a haunting dilemma as they try to cope with the hazards and traumas of life on a refugee boat.

In Boy Overboard, the academy’s acting students have tackled some of the tough questions of life as a refugee.

Bridgette Lowden, who plays the father Mohammed, remarked that it was difficult to think about the laws that govern the circumstances of other people’s lives.

"It makes you think about how lucky we are," said another one of the students, Alice Tanzer-Wilde.

The NQADA Youth Theatre Company has prepared a play which is set to entertain and, at the same time, makes each member of the audience think about their own circumstances and the lives of others in this world who are not so fortunate.

The play is about more than just immigration – it is about people surviving and remaining hopeful under a tough regime and who place themselves and their families at extreme risk by deciding to change their lives.

>> You can catch Boy Overboard at the Rondo Theatre on Greenslopes St on November 27, 28 and 29 from 7.30pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children, with group bookings available. For details, contact the NQADA office on 4039 3353.

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