Tegan Whalan

London, 1814: Young 14-year-old John Popjoy steals a gelding, and is transported to Australia. He works hard, despite receiving little food, and being flogged at every opportunity. John attempts to find freedom – but fails. Hope comes to John when he meets fellow convict William Swallow. William has already escaped from transportation twice, and he is formulating a new cunning plan to return to their home country – and John is part of it.

Based on the true stories of both men, “Swallow & Popjoy” tells the interconnected biographies of the convicts, asking just what motivated the prisoners to make the extraordinary choices that led to one of the most thrilling escapes in Australian convict history.