When I think of children’s theatre, I often think of vivid colours, wildly animated characters and cheerful tunes. And it’s understandable because these are all the things that attract young minds and plant the seeds for the love of theatre to grow.
But simply burying a seed is not enough. And therein lies the gap between the current state of children’s theatre and adult theatre. We have lots of fun, sensory productions for young children, hardly a smooth transition to adult theatre.
I remember visiting the theatre as part of secondary school excursions in Singapore. While I enjoyed watching David Dixon in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, I was also more arts-inclined and, having attended an Anglican primary school, was familiar with the biblical Joseph. I was a little lost at sea at Arion and the Dolphin and just stared at the pretty colours.
While the content of both productions were suitable for teenagers, they were of little interest and relatability to the students watching them. There are hardly dedicated theatre productions for teenage viewers.
And this is where Barking Gecko Arts is filling the gap with its latest production, The Stones.
The Stones debuted in 1996 and has commanded the stage over five hundred times. It follows a misadventurous afternoon with two teenagers, Yahoo and Shyboy. From our first encounter of them breaking into a warehouse, you know that this won’t end well.
And it doesn’t. Despite having a spanner thrown into the works at the warehouse, their capers crescendo. The boys’ grand finale of mischief sees them throwing stones at trucks from a freeway overhead pass. They hit their targets, killing one of the drivers. We watch as the boys navigate the fallout of their tomfoolery, through the judicial system and in their personal lives.
For the first portion of the production, you might feel like this is a cautionary tale. However, this isn’t a condescending finger waggle from a parent or teacher. Instead, we feel like we are fly on the wall to teenage shenanigans. The characters feel like kids we would have known, or even been, in school.
And this is largely due to the actors portraying the boys. Luke Joseph Ryan plays Yahoo, the fifteen year old with a taste for trouble. Shyboy, played by Isaac Diamond, is thirteen and up for a good time… and when he isn’t, is easily goaded into it by Yahoo. Diamond and Ryan have a natural chemistry between them, that effectively captures the essence of the boyhood desires of conquering dangerous situations and peer acceptance.
What’s more amazing is how deftly Diamond and Ryan zip through four roles between them. They swap between the boys and two detectives who are working on the case.
Ryan, in particular, was a chameleon on stage. You would not think he could play a teenager, based on his tall stature, but he nailed the energy of the annoying older “bad influence”. Then, with a seeming flip of a switch, he would completely shed the teenage skin and turn into the weary Detective Russo.
While we spend most of the production riding the waves with the boys, it is in the last third that The Stones smoothly engages critical thought with the audience.
This masterful scene exposes the complexity of juvenile crime. You have one side of the coin which argues that kids are kids. They did not mean any malice, they were just mucking about. As parents, this side might resonate deeply because we know from the modern parenting gurus that the prefrontal cortex (the very part of the brain that’s responsible for weighing consequences and impulse control) isn’t fully developed until the mid-20s.
But how big a mistake can someone get away with, based on age? With such severe consequences, surely they must take some accountability for their actions?
The material is heavy. The set initially conveys this, seeming starkly spartan with a backdrop of pipe scaffolding, a concrete looking curved ramp and irregularly shaped wooden balance beams.
However, the creativity of the production lightens the mood, without downplaying it.
The props are surprisingly versatile, adding visual detail to the story. The actors provide moments of physical comedy with their exaggerated expressions and untethered movement. Both actors also employ their vocal chops, providing the majority of sound effects from echoes to zooming cars. The lighting also steps in to replace sound effects and provides creative highlights to the narrative.
This is a visually rich show, one which budding thespians will appreciate. It would be a great piece to discuss in drama class about how to maximise your available resources.
The Stones is currently offered as a recommended General Drama text for the Western Australian senior secondary curriculum. Educators can contact the Barking Gecko Arts’ Learning and Engagement team at school.bookings@barkinggecko.com.au for more information.
But I really wish that I could bring my son to Stones some day. As a parent, I can see the value in continuing the conversation that The Stones has thoughtfully ignited.