PETA DOWNES
The Boys
by Gordon Graham
Drama Theatre, AIM Sydney
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER Peta Downes
CAST Shayan Askari, Jake Cain-Roser, Erin Franks, Matthew Giles, Stacey Parviainen, Olivia Xegas, Lucy Yabsley, and Rhiarn Zarzhavsky.
PRODUCTION MANAGER Simeon Lewis
STAGE MANAGER Natasha Pontoh-Supit
PRODUCTION DESIGNER Megan Venhoek
LIGHTING DESIGNER Ben Anshaw
SOUND AND VISUALS DESIGNER Michael Huxley
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PHOTOGRAPHY Heidrun Löhr
SYNOPSIS
Brett Sprague returns from a twelve-month jail stint ready to pick up where he left off. But everything is different. His V8 has been repossessed and his brother Glenn has moved out with his girlfriend Jackie, while his younger brother Stevie is about to become a dad. His mother Sandra doesn’t seem to need him anymore and everything is falling apart. Determined to retain his grip on his family, Brett embarks on a drink-fuelled rampage, sweeping his brothers along with him – with terrifying consequences.
Written in 1991, Gordon Graham’s The Boys still resonates with Australia’s worsening trend of social and domestic violence towards women. Offering insight and possible explanation, The Boys explores the insidious nature of pack mentality and how we must confront this cycle of violence to survive.
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THE BOYS was a 2019 AIM Dramatic Arts production featuring second year Bachelor of Performance students.