IF WE GOT SOME MORE COCAINE I COULD SHOW YOU HOW I LOVE YOU - ACT Hub.

Joshua James (Casey) - Robert Kjellgren (Michael) in the ACT Hub production of
 "If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You"

 

Written by John O’Donovan – Directed by Joel Horwood

Lighting Design by Lachlan Houen – Sound Design by Neville Pye

Costume Design by Winsome Ogilvie – Set Design by Isaac Reilly & Joel Horwood

Presented by Everyman Theatre Company, ACT Hub from 14^th – 24^th May, 2025.

Performance on 22^nd May reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

Despite its cumbersome, off-putting title, Irish playwright, John O’Donovan’s first full-length play turns out to be a compelling 90-minute drama about two young gay men struggling with their feelings for each other in a situation which threatens to ruin both their lives.

Set in the Irish town of Ennis, the entire play takes place on the rooftop of a house, where the pair, Mikey and Casey, find themselves trapped in their effort to elude pursuing police following their botched robbery of a local petrol station.

Although the robbery didn’t yield much in cash it did provide them with a considerable stash of cocaine which they planned to dispose of at a party they are meant to be attending that night.

Mikey is the older of the two. The product of a difficult upbringing, he’s outwardly sure of himself and flaunts his sexuality as a badge of honour.  Although he’s been on the receiving end of small-town gossip, both verbal and physical, he’s learned to use his athletic prowess to attract bullies with whom he deals savagely.

English, and still closeted, but with a similar background to Mikey, teenager Casey is much less willing to declare his sexuality, particularly to his homophobic stepfather, with whom he and his mother have fled London to settle in Ennis.  Still not entirely comfortable in the erratic behaviour of Mikey, Casey is also inhibited by a secret he has been keeping from him. 

While they wait for an opportunity to escape from the roof, the pair pass the time in conversation. At first flippant and flirty, but as the night becomes colder, the conversation becomes more intense as they begin to help themselves to the cocaine stash in an effort to keep warm.

As their conversation leads them towards exploring previously unshared truths about their backgrounds and mutual attraction, they surprise themselves by realising and declaring the depth of their feelings for each other.  

Joshua James (Casey) - Robert Kjellgren (Mikey) in
"If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You"

Although there is no physical violence on stage, there are plenty of graphic descriptions of it in O’ Donovan’s hard-hitting script with its appropriately forthright dialogue riddled with expletives and delivered with confidence, commitment and unexpected tenderness by Robert Kjellgren and Joshua James as Mikey and Casey.

Kjellgren and James make a compelling duo in this fine production for which Joel Horwood, fresh from his much-admired production of “Sweet Charity” for Free Rain Theatre, again demonstrates his assured directorial skills with an admirably restrained production.

Horwood’s attention to dynamic stage blocking, contrasted with masterful use of stillness, avoids any hint of the conversations between the protagonists becoming static.  He also capitalises on the physical and temperamental differences of his actors to achieve astonishingly nuanced and authentic performances.

Astute collaboration with his designers, Isaac Reilly for the realistic rooftop setting, allowed him to create several heart-stopping moments. Lachlan Houen’s subtle lighting design successfully captured the atmosphere of a chill winter night, while Winsome Ogilvie’s understated costume design together with Neville Pye’s atmospheric sound design all combined to add authenticity to the world of Mikey and Casey.

Robert Kjellgren (Mikey) - Joshua James (Casey) in 
"If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You"

This debut play by John O’Donovan earned him a $10,000 Award from London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2016. It was given its first Australian production by the Green Door Theatre Company in Sydney in 2019 and it has received several Australian productions since.

Everyman Theatre has done the playwright and his play proud with this arresting   production which further enhances the reputation of ACT Hub for presenting excellent productions of challenging and important theatre.   

                                       Photos by Ben Appleton - Photox Canberra.

     This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au