Global Creatures Secures Rights to Stage Adaptation of Boy Swallows Universe

We are delighted to share that Global Creatures has secured the stage rights to develop and produce a live theatrical adaptation of Trent Dalton’s beloved, multi-award-winning novel Boy Swallows Universe.

An international bestseller published by Harper Collins Australia, Boy Swallows Universe has sold over a million copies and been published in 34 territories. The novel’s universal appeal was demonstrated by its successful adaptation into a seven-part Netflix series, garnering 7.6 million global views within its first two weeks.

Our CEO & Producer, Carmen Pavlovic, said:
“Trent Dalton is one of the most dynamic voices in Australian literature and his thrilling debut novel Boy Swallows Universe is one of my favourite books ever. I’m honoured to collaborate with Trent to reimagine his remarkable and deeply personal story for the stage. The show promises to be a theatrical event that brings to life the powerful and uplifting worlds of brothers Eli and Gus.”

Author Trent Dalton said:
“I am so frequently awed by what Carmen Pavlovic and Global Creatures are able to create for theatrical stages across the world. Absolute Oz-made international bar raisers. They always seem to me to be chasing the kind of electrifying soul wallop that I tried to bring to Boy Swallows Universe, back when that more-than-semi-autobiographical story first broke loose from the rusty prison bars of my heart and turned itself into a book. It’s nothing less than a theatrical dream come true for me to embark on this journey with a global team as profoundly protective of where that story comes from as it is electrified by its creatively boundless and geographically borderless theatrical potential.”

Stay tuned for more exciting details soon.

BOOK SYNOPSIS

Brisbane, 1985: A lost father, a mute brother, a junkie mum, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious crim for a babysitter. It’s not as if Eli Bell’s life isn’t complicated enough already. He’s just trying to follow his heart and understand what it means to be a good man, but fate keeps throwing obstacles in his way – not the least of which is Tytus Broz, legendary Brisbane drug dealer. But now Eli’s life is going to get a whole lot more serious: he’s about to meet the father he doesn’t remember, break into Boggo Road Gaol on Christmas Day to rescue his mum, come face to face with the criminals who tore his world apart, and fall in love with the girl of his dreams. A story of brotherhood, true love and the most unlikely of friendships, Boy Swallows Universe is heartbreaking, joyous and exhilarating.