You’ve read the book, and streamed the series. Now, get set for the stage version of “Boy Swallows Universe”.
Trent Dalton’s beloved coming-of-age tale will come alive for a theatrical adaptation through Global Creatures, the producing powerhouse behind “Moulin Rouge! The Musical”, “King Kong” and “Muriel’s Wedding The Musical”.
Announced Thursday, September 11th, Global Creatures has secured the stage rights to develop and produce the live show.
Through the new partnership, Global Creatures will “reimagine his remarkable and deeply personal story for the stage,” says the company’s producer Carmen Pavlovic. “The show promises to be a theatrical event that brings to life the powerful and uplifting worlds of brothers Eli and Gus.”
Adds Dalton, “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.”
A semi-autobiographical tale based in Brisbane in the 1980s, “Boy Swallows Universe” is an international best-seller for Harper Collins Australia, shifting over a million copies across 34 territories.
The story was converted to the small screen for a seven-part Netflix series, which captured 7.6 million global views within its first two weeks and won big on the awards circuit. With five trophies, “Boy Swallows Universe” dominated at the 2024 Logie Awards, including two trophies to the young lead Felix Cameron, playing Eli Bell. The series went on to win 12 categories across the 2025 AACTA Awards and AACTA Awards Industry Gala. Its soundtrack resonated, and was stacked with classics rom the era by The Church (“Unguarded Moment”), Paul Kelly (“Dumb Things”) and more.
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“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,” Dalton continues.
A statement from Global Creatures reads, “Stay tuned for more details about ‘Boy Swallows Universe’.”