This is a reprise of the outstandingly exceptional debut from a young writer with so much to share about growing up. It systematically unpacks gender pressures, and all at once we find ourselves believing in the truth of the case the young boys’ team debaters invest in—only to come up gasping at their audacity. Behind closed doors, as they prep for the debate, their guards and guises are removed. All too often, Marni has them casually speak directly to us, inviting reflection on their truth-telling.
Satirical, dark, and biting in its critique of power and privilege, the play’s sharpness lies in how its characters are drawn as exaggerated caricatures—and then, all at once, become painfully, brilliantly identifiable. I heard many afterwards say they knew these boys—from their own lives or their past experiences. Mattana hits a nerve.
So many moments individually capture the audience. Throughout the show, definitive laughs rippled from different pockets of the theatre—moments of recognition, drawn from personal truth. The play is as sharp as it is real. We know these ‘young men’—incredibly defined and revealed by a cast of female and non-binary actors performing ‘in drag’, as such.
At times, it hurts to laugh, as we simultaneously identify and grimace at the truth the play holds up to us—too real, too raw. The collective response meant we were often holding our breath; the pulse of the audience was unmissable. Ultimately, we owe much to our young people—women, non-binary folk—and indeed, as director Marni Mount noted in post-show remarks, perhaps we owe most to our young men.
What’s so incredibly clever about this play and its production is that it is savagely black comedy. We have to laugh. But we must also cry—just a little—for what this reveals about the fault lines in our social existence. These young people are not so much horrible as they are laughably, recognisably real. You will laugh—but some will also find the play’s possibilities horrifying. That is the wonder of the writer’s mastery.
I confess I have now seen this play twice: in 2024, with Emmanuelle as Owen, the nerdy scholarship kid, and now with the original cast (besides Mattana, who now plays Owen in the Off-Broadway production). Myfanwy Hocking brings their own take to Owen—yet the character still looms large by the end. Fran Sweeney-Nash is provocatively credible as the egotistical, “I love women” and so-self-assured wanker. Gaby Seow plays the “no homo” with the perfect balance of people-pleaser and follower-turned-dominator. Leigh Lule sustains the role of lad and leader with poise. All of them entitled, privileged, and denying their lives are easy.
So—it’s about money, power, privilege, politics, personality, and provocation. But it’s about so much more. Calculating what is satire? You’ll be asking that all the way through. We definitely want more from this young writer.
national tour dates below:
- Carriageworks (July 23 – August 3)
- Riverside Parramatta (August 6-9)
- Arts Centre Melbourne (August 12-24)
- Queensland Performing Arts Centre (August 25-30)
Director
Marni Mount
Writer
Emmanuelle Mattana
Cast
Leigh Lule
Gaby Seow
Fran Sweeney-Nash
Myfanwy Hocking
Photography Carriageworks and Ben Andrews
