Boys on the Verge of Tears first premiered last year in London at the Soho Theatre. Now, Sam Grabiner’s debut play brings its fresh and unique storytelling style to Australia.
The Maybe Pile’s Melbourne production of Boys on the Verge of Tears captures everything it needs to in this multi-faceted theatre approach. Playing at the fortyfivedownstairs, patrons head downstairs to a basement room that’s been fitted out like a dirty, grimy and rather unappealing public men’s restroom.
I was previously unfamiliar with this style of the play and after the first few scenes featuring 2 to 3 varied characters, I soon realised that we wouldn’t be meeting the characters again nor revisiting their stories. Instead, we’re shown snippets of many different lives, stories, and reflections on identity and masculinity.
As the audience, we are placed in the perspective of being in a public bathroom, or a fly on the wall of one at least. We bear witness to the development and big moments that can occur in such an everyday and mundane space, yet this production is able to seamlessly transition through scenes. Over the course of the 100-minute show, patrons are shown sneak peeks into the lives of almost 50 unique characters, all portrayed through a simple cast of five through a series of vignettes.
What really hooked me into this show was how quickly you could get invested in each small scene, even the shorter ones. As soon as a new character walked on, I wanted to know who had entered the stage this time, what was going to happen, and what was going to be said. A difficult feat to achieve but pulled off by the quality of acting and direction, helping to make any transition between stories be not too jarring.
The cast stars Ben Walter, Karl Richmond, Justin Hosking, Damon Baudin, and Akeel Purmanund; all five cast members pulling their weight and showing their different strengths across the multiple characters they portray. Each cast member shining through in certain scenes that truly showcased their individual talents, while also supporting each other.
The lighting design by Georgina Wolfe effortlessly assisted these scene transitions to make you feel like you were wherever the new setting was. While all in a public bathroom, we moved from a school to a club, to even part-hallucination. The sound design by Ethan Hunter did the same to keep the audience moving between moments, as well as provided subtle overtones to add tension to scenes when appropriate.
The tone is carefully transitioned throughout the play, starting with more comedic and lighter moments at the beginning with a focus on development, learning and milestones, such as a young boy learning to pee in the ‘big boy toilets’ by himself for the first time, to schoolboys nervously planning how the events of their school dance might unfold. Later, we see a more serious tone and reflections on identity with a club setting which included drug induced spirals, and heart to hearts with some drag queens. Finally, we end with a more reflective and sadder moment, with conversation touching on aging, disease, and regrets.
Keegan Bragg’s direction made excellent use of the unique performance space with audiences seated both sides of ‘the bathroom sink’. The scenes ‘bled’ into each other for smooth movement into a new life, a new tale. Almost like how you can transition between dreams, with not many hard and fast start-stops, but slowly and deliberately.
There was something extra added by being able to see the other half of the audience through where the bathroom ‘mirror’ would be. You could see and hear reactions each scene ignited from laughter, several gasps, pitying “aww” moments, to supportive hand holding and tears. Additionally, having the bathroom as a 3D space for the characters to interact with and be able to face multiple directions throughout every scene, made it feel grounded and true to life, as opposed to looking at a flat stage from one direction, and having the characters not be able to face each other directly as often.
There were a couple of moments that the audience didn’t fully click with, some risqué jokes that didn’t quite get a laugh, but this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. The brash humour attempts are shown as a mask for the uneasiness of growing up. All the characters presented aren’t displayed from a moral point of view, so you’re not meant to separate any into ones you agree or disagree with.
There was something so human about the range of scenes showed with so many things can happen in everyday life in a common place where friendships can be formed and broken, confessions spoken, decisions made, where life-changing occurrences and learning can happen. All in all, it’s just life.
The term I thought of most while watching Boys on the Verge of Tears was ‘sonder’, meaning “the realisation that everyone has their own life and is an individual”. Boys on the Verge of Tears provides a small snippet into so many lives which was fascinating to witness and could be explored a lot deeper into the commentary and meanings behind each scene. This new play was an unexpected delight and felt truly unique. I’d highly recommend checking out this talented cast while you have the chance.
Boys on the Verge of Tears is currently playing in Melbourne at fortyfivedownstairs until March 30.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://fortyfivedownstairs.com/event/boys-on-the-verge-of-tears
Photography by Ben Andrews.
