Trigger warning: Please note, although carefully portrayed, this play does depict sexual violence, implied rape, self-harm, suicide and drug use. For a detailed trigger warning about this production, please refer to this page. If you need to talk to someone, please contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).
“Boyhood, innocence, power, faith, sexuality, privilege, manhood, legacy, footy, Madonna, Amen”
All Boys is an emotionally charged play with intense characters that depict boys you could have known in high school. Ten boys’ parallel lives web together, chaotically, as they navigate their way through each year of high school between 2009-2014. For context, it was during this period that Australia established the Royal Commission into the Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse. As such, the narrative explores the impact of victimhood and perpetration, and of violence and intimacy.
I found myself wanting to delve further into each character, as they all semed to have their own story to tell. With the help of these talented and believable young actors, it’s easy to liken them to someone you were yourself, someone you were friends with, someone that bullied you or an awkward experience you tried to forget. With the theatre space being so intimate, you could appreciate and follow the body language of every nervous movement, confused eyebrow twitch, awkward posturing and raging facial expression.
Each scene packed a solid punch. They were as thought-provoking as they were short and sweet! They were so ever changing that sometimes there was no time to analyse the scenes before you had to jump into the next one to process it. The complexity and speed of each scene was clever and purposeful, intensifying the masculine energy of the story. There was some comic relief and lovable characters that developed and you really just wanted them to either shine or find some resolution.
There were themes to this play that are universal: unrequited love, loneliness, isolation, acceptance, unworthiness, fear and loss. What you get out of this play depends entirely on your personal experience or your perspective. If you had no idea what a Catholic boarding school was like, All Boys attempts to open the very exclusive doors to a world and lifestyle that many would not be privy to.
I don’t know how much truth inspired the creative process of this story written by NIDA and VCA graduate Xavier Hazard, but it succeeds at poking holes in the ‘cloth’ to reveal the truth about a hidden world, a corrupt institution that sacrificed their sons to maintain esteem in privileged and exclusive circles, to protect and keep the elite in power.
You could not hear a pin drop for 2 hours. All eyes were solely on these ten brilliant actors. We were in awe as they discussed all the questions and messages packed into this play. The fact that you will be gripped from beginning to end, in my mind, is the mark of a great creation with an important story to tell.
ALL BOYS is now showing until August 24th at The Blue Room Theatre, Northbridge.
Grab your tickets here.