Following rave reviews and multiple sold-out seasons, the acclaimed queer black comedy Trophy Boys will tour nationally this year performing at Sydney’s Carriageworks (23 July – 3 August) and Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres (6 – 9 August), Arts Centre Melbourne (12 – 24 August) and Brisbane’s QPAC (25 – 30 August).
Set on the biggest night of the Melbourne academic calendar – the Grand Final of the Year 12 Interschool Debating Tournament – Trophy Boys follows the all-boys debate team from an elite private school as they are tasked with arguing that ‘feminism has failed women’.
Performed by a female and non-binary cast in masculine drag, the play unfolds in real time during the debate’s one hour prep window as the riotously funny satire turns into a sharp exploration of power and privilege.
The production playfully and powerfully interrogates the well-documented toxic masculinity, misogyny, and homophobia of elite private boys’ schools, that spills into the highest offices of power in the country.
Written by Emmanuelle Mattana (ABC’s Mustangs FC) and directed by Marni Mount (POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive), Trophy Boys debuted to sold-out crowds at La Mama Theatre in 2022, followed by sold-out seasons across Geelong, Sydney, Melbourne, St Albans, Wyong and Canberra over the course of the last two years.
Mattana said her own real-world experiences of high school and participating in debating inspired her to craft Trophy Boys. “Once upon a time I was a competitive high school debater who would make jokes with her friends about how we ‘probably knew’ the next Prime Minister,” she said.
“Soon, when the sorts of horrors taking place in the halls of Parliament began coming to light, this old joke became less funny, and I felt compelled to revisit my time as a high school debater in the only way that felt right – drag, camp, and a lot of comedy.”
After several successful seasons in venues across the country, Mattana believes Trophy Boys continues to resonate with audiences as it reflects the modern world. “Trophy Boys dares to look at misogyny in a new way, through a satirical lens: it’s riotous, irreverent, and the performances are infectious,” she said.
“As we grapple as a society with how to combat violence, I think it takes this kind of approach to change the way we see things and invite a new way of thinking.”
Trophy Boys recently won Best New Australian Work and was nominated for Best Independent Production at the 2024 Sydney Theatre Awards. It received four 2023 Green Room Award nominations, including Best Production and Best New Writing, in addition taking home Best Theatre of 2023 by The Age and Best New Play/Musical 2023 by Broadway World Australia.
Off the back of Trophy Boys‘ success in Australia, a US production is set to premiere later this year Off Broadway in New York, directed by Tony Award-winning Danya Taymor and Mattana as a member of the cast.
For the upcoming Australian tour, Leigh Lule will return as the nerdy enigma David, along with Gaby Seow as the dopey lawyer’s son Scott and Fran Sweeney-Nash as the soft-boy-jock Jared. Myfanwy Hocking will debut as the brainiac scholarship kid Owen.
Trophy Boys will tour to Sydney’s Carriageworks (23 July – 3 August) and Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres (6 – 9 August), Arts Centre Melbourne (12 – 24 August) and Brisbane’s QPAC (25 – 30 August). For more information, visit: www.themaybepile.com.au for details.
Image: Trophy Boys – photo by Ben Andrews