Glass Child

Straight from its critically acclaimed 2023 debut season, this will be the Sydney premiere of siblings Kayah and Maitreyah Guenther’s Glass Child; a poignant portrayal of the pair’s real-life sibling relationship which was co-created with the contemporary dance company The Farm.

Developed in consultation with the Olivier Award-winning Australian playwright Suzie Miller (Jailbaby, Prima Facie), this original work combines dance, theatre, and storytelling to depict the intertwining relationship between Kayah, a young man with Down Syndrome, and his sister Maitreyah, highlighting the sibling’s connection and how their lives have been affected by other people’s perceptions.  

The term ‘Glass Child’ refers to the sibling of someone with special needs who often becomes a facilitator in the family, someone who is “looked through”. Throughout their lives Maitreyah has watched Kayah be left out, ridiculed or ignored without understanding why. Glass Child puts a microscope on their love and how their relationship has grown, asking us to examine why we search for why we search for differences within our society rather than focusing on what brings us together.

Co-directed by The Farm’s founding members Kate Harman (The Ninth Wave, TIDE) and Gavin Webber (Frank Enstein, TIDE), Glass Child stars sister-brother duo Maitreyah Guenther (WONDER: Return to Earth) and Kayah Guenther (The Crossing) with set and costume design by Rozina Suliman (MONA FOMA).