We're Gonna Kill Billy

Event date: Tuesday, 27 January 2026 | 07:00 PM to 08:30 PM

Northland Youth Theatre (NYT) is thrilled to present the national premiere of We’re Gonna Kill Billy by young playwright Alex Medland (Kāi Tahu) – winner of the 2025 Adam NZ Play Award, Best Play by a Māori Playwright, and Best Play by a Woman Playwright.

As the youngest-ever recipient of the award, Medland’s voice represents the next wave of sharp, courageous, socially engaged storytelling in Aotearoa, making this an extraordinary opportunity for NYT’s emerging performers to tackle a work written for their generation.

The play follows four teens swept up in an ambitious act of climate activism that quickly slips beyond their control. As communication breaks down and pressure mounts, their certainty wavers, alliances shift, and the line between courage and chaos blurs. What begins as a bold stand becomes a tense, darkly funny exploration of responsibility, privilege and the messy ethics of trying to change the world.

NYT is uniquely placed to tell this story. The play’s teenage characters mirror the lived experiences, frustrations and fierce convictions of our rangatahi.

By staging this bold, funny, and deeply contemporary work, we are giving our young actors the chance to stretch into professional-calibre material, explore politically relevant themes, and bring their own voices and perspectives to the forefront.

For our community, this production offers rare access to a multi-award-winning New Zealand play in its first-ever staging, performed by the talented young people of Te Tai Tokerau.

We’re Gonna Kill Billy is a powerful reminder that youth voices matter, and that theatre can challenge, provoke and inspire real conversation about the world we are inheriting.

Accessibility: Mobility parking, wheelchair access, accessible toilets.