Just a Boy, Standing in Front of a Girl

Annie Lumsden (M) and Keith Brockett (J)

From the creative team behind The Yellow Wave comes a darkly comic take on a well-known tale.  Just a Boy, Standing in Front of a Girl  follows J and M as they fall in love and hit the road in search of fame and fortune. A contemporary and subversive re-imagining of events surrounding a classic text, Just a Boy is a parable of the patriarchy that shows what happens when you’re young, talented, smart, strong and female! 

Writer's Note

Just a Boy, Standing in Front of a Girl has its genesis in our desire to adapt a second classical work as a follow-up to Motherfucker, our 2014 adaptation of Oedipus. In the process I became frustrated with the depiction of the female characters and started to interrogate the world that they inhabited: the patriarchy and its impact on all genders and the way they operate in the world, even on the most unconscious level, and the different standards we hold men and women to. As the play developed, it was surprising just how resonant its classically-drawn themes remained in relation to the current discourse around gender politics in contemporary society, particularly in very recent times.

 Just a Boy looks at serious, often dark, material through a tragicomic lens that combines elements of subversive humour, feminism and pop culture. The resulting work is the product of a truly collaborative process and there can be no better creative partner with whom to explore subversive tragicomedy than Beng. His instinct for the use of space is a key element of the dramaturgical process and directly informs the development of the text. Working with Annie, Andrea, John, Keith, Glenn, Emily and more recently Dans and Zach has been a joy and a privilege.  The generosity and influence of their contribution and talent on the development of Just a Boy is immeasurable.

Jane Miller

writer – Jane Miller
director – Beng Oh
with – Keith Brockett, John Marc Desengano, Annie Lumsden, Andrea McCannon and Glenn van Oosterom
set and costume design – Emily Collett
lighting design – Dans Maree Sheehan
sound design – Zac Kazepis
stage manager –  Daniel Barca

 


4 to 14 October 2018
La Mama Courthouse
239 Drummond Street
Carlton, Melbourne VIC

 

Just A Boy Standing in Front of a Girl  was assisted through HotHouse Theatre’s  A Month in the Country  residential program, a project delivered in partnership with Albury City. 

 


Just A Boy Standing in Front of a Girl is supported by Creative Partnerships Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.