Fourteen
Writer Shannon Molloy, Adapted by Nelle Lee, Nick Skubij with Shannon Molloy. Directed by Nick Skubij. Creative Producer Ross Balbuziente. Set Designer Josh McIntosh. Costume Designer Fabian Holford. Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest.Sound Designer & Composer Guy Webster. Choreographer Dan Venz. Intimacy Director Michelle Miall. Fight Director Tim Dashwood
Featuring Leon Cain, Karen Crone, Judy Hainsworth, Ryan Hodson, Amy Ingram, Conor Leach as Shannon Molloy, and Steven Rooke. Shake&Stir Theatre Company. The Playhouse. Canberra Theatre Centre. May 9-11 2024. Bookings: canberratheatrecentre.com.au
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
Shake&Stir ‘s excellent
reputation exceeds all expectation with the company’s production of Shannon
Molloy’s Fourteen. The year is 1999 and fourteen year old Shannon Molloy lives
with his mother in the Queensland coastal town of Yepoon. At one point during the play after having
been bullied and beaten by classmates at his Christian Brother’s school the terrified young boy says “How can things
be so beautiful and so awful at the same time.” Young Shannon harbours a
terrible secret. He is a pubescent teenager coming to grips with the fact that
he is gay. At school he is the victim of vilification by homophobic students
and an unsympathetic teacher. Only a handful of friends and his family offer
support. Based on Molloy’s award winning novel, the stage adaptation is a
powerfully visceral experience, performed with bristling vitality and
courageous honesty.
Although Fourteen recounts the experience of one young boy , it reflects the torment of abuse and prejudice that so many young people face as they grapple with puberty and sexuality. As I watched Shake & Stir’s production unfold, I was struck both by its relevance to the community debate on domestic violence and, even after a gap of a quarter of a century, how disturbingly relevant Molloy’s story is. Fourteen is being lauded in theatres across the country, but it is also a powerful piece of theatre in education that should be seen by every student and their teachers across the country. It has the power to influence attitudes and change lives and give young people facing Molloy’s struggles resilience and eventual liberation. It affirms the love and support of family and friends and offers hope of a better future.
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| Amy Ingram as Rhonda. Conor Leach as Shannon |
Shake & Stir’s production of Fourteen takes audiences on an emotional rollercoaster ride through the human experience. Beautifully structured, the action of the play takes you through moments of sheer cruelty such as the beating scene to suddenly be relieved by a dynamically and funny routine to a piece of Nineties pop. There is heart wrenching pain when Molloy is asked by an art teacher to recount incidents that made him sad, lonely or confused and as the revolve carries him in a circle of reflection, the haunting sound of Sarti’s music lends the scene pathos. This is then contrasted by the Yepoon Fashion Show auditions and the comical actions of friends Rhonda and Margo. Director Nick Skubij leads the audience on a rollercoaster ride of mixed emotions from Dan Venz’s slick choreography to pounding pop music to the tender, awkward moment of Molloy’s first kiss to the distressing assault in the toilet block. Josh McIntosh’s towering set design transports the audience from classroom to home to toilets to the community hall and spaces of intimacy, solitude and escape.
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| Conor Leach as Shannon Molloy in Fourteen |
Central to the production is Conor Leach’s performance as the fourteen year old Molloy, struggling to survive in an antagonistic environment until self-determination and good fortune offer the opportunity for a new and successful life. Leach is superb in the role of Molloy, acting as narrator to his life story and the tormented gay boy grappling with his sexuality in the isolated town of Yepoon. He is wonderfully supported by an ensemble of actors who double up in various role and carry the action through with moments of exploding energy and sensitivity.
Shake&Stir remain true to
their name, producing theatre of the highest quality that confronts in this
instance an issue that is still centre stage in the community’s consciousness.
After twenty five years, in spite of any progress, the plight of gay young
teenagers seeking love and acceptance still prevails. Molloy is offered an exit
card. In a moment that chokes in the throat, his mother turns and says “I love
you” It is a powerful testimony to the power of love and acceptance.
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| Conor Leach and Karen Crone as Mother |
Shake&Stir’s Fourteen is not to be missed. It is riveting, highly professional theatre, but more than that it is a beacon to a society that still has a way to go to accept and support all those who may be regarded as different. Fourteen runs for 100 minutes without an interval and every minute offers a moment of must see theatre.
Photos by Joel Deveraux
★★★★★
