A surreal, tender tale of grief and healing, adapted from Max Porter’s acclaimed novel.
Grief Is The Thing With Feathers
★★★★★ “If you miss this, you might peck yourself to death.” — SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
In Grief Is the Thing With Feathers, two boys and their poet father navigate the aftermath of sudden loss, their lives disrupted by the arrival of Crow — a chaotic, tender, and possibly imagined force. Adapted from Max Porter’s celebrated novel, this bold and theatrical production directed by Simon Phillips explores the strange, poetic shape of grief with wit, heart, and imagination.
PRODUCER
Belvoir St Theatre and Andrew Henry Presents
Seasons
Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney
26 Jul — 24 Aug 2025
Creative Team
FROM THE NOVEL BY — Max Porter
ADAPTED BY — Nick Schlieper, Simon Phillips & Toby Schmitz
DIRECTED BY — Simon Phillips
SET DESIGNER — Nick Schlieper & Simon Phillips
COSTUME DESIGNER — Ella Butler
COMPOSER & MUSICIAN — Freya Schack-Arnott
LIGHTING DESIGNER — Nick Schlieper
SOUND DESIGNER — Daniel Herten
VIDEO DESIGNER — Craig Wilkinson
ILLUSTRATOR — Jon Weber
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR — Margaret Thanos
VOICE COACH — Laura Farrell
VOICEOVER ARTISTS — Laura Farrell, Kobe Morgan & Jack Stephens
FIGHT COACH — Diego Retamales
STAGE MANAGER — Sam Illingworth
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER — Claire Edmonds-Wilson
CAST
DAD/CROW — Toby Schmitz
BOY — Philip Lynch
BOY — Fraser Morrison
MUSICIAN — Freya Schack-Arnott
PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHY – Brett Boardman
REVIEWS
★★★★★
“If you miss this, you might peck yourself to death.”
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
★★★★
“At Belvoir, [the adaptation] has been wrested from your mind by a set of creative safe hands… it does feel like a work that will touch just about everyone who comes to see it.”
LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE
“Craig Wilkinson’s projections and animations beautifully expand the tale while maintaining the bleak, pungent atmosphere of the emotionally drained household.”
CULTURAL BINGE
“Phillips’ direction is boldly imaginative, capturing the poetic chaos of the widower’s interactions with the crow in a production that is truly dazzling for the senses. Video design by Craig Wilkinson, along with illustrations by Jon Weber, form a highly evocative element of the staging, especially useful in bringing to life its supernatural dimensions.”
SUZY GOES SEE
“Tying the piece together are compelling video direction and live music. The former is genuinely exciting, as it etches the presence of Crow’s mythology across the stage, aided by Jon Weber’s work as illustrator.”
THE CONVERSATION
“Every once in a while you leave the theatre knowing that you have seen the rare treat where every element of the production comes together culminating in theatre at its best.”
AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW
“What this production adds to Porter’s beautiful book is an intensity of purpose. This is a gloriously collaborative effort, from theatre makers at the height of their powers, to communicate the beauty that persists through the pain and degradation that life throws at us.”
THE CONVERSATION
“From a surprise hit novella, Phillips, Schmitz and company have created some of the richest theatre seen in Sydney this year that deals with human nature in its frailest moments.”
AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW
PRODUCTION IMAGES
Illustrations by Jon Weber
