Log Boy → State Theatre Company
Saturday 3rd October, AC Arts Main Theatre
FIVE STARS
Log Boy’s writer Anthony Nocera shared that he was told numerous times that opening a show like this in Adelaide won’t work here because “there is no audience for it.” Yet, before Log Boy even opened, the team hit their target and then some, now only three shows into their run.
So, clearly there is a craving in this city for theatre that is dangerous, refreshing, and accentuates the heartwrenching true stories of the gay community in Australia. Log Boy is daring— a welcome rebellion against playing it safe— and above all, has all the elements of a bloody good piece of theatre.
Log Boy is a semi-autobiographical play that takes place the night before the funeral of Michael, Anthony’s fiance, who tragically lost his life to AIDS. Nocera wastes no time placing the audience in the reality of facing loss, yet does so in a way that expertly uses humour to comfort us. Alone in Michael’s home, Anthony is haunted by ‘Leather Daddy,’ the sexy (and hella-jacked) “ghost” who refuses to let him forget the past. In between Leather Daddy’s nightmarish presence, Michael’s dearest friends (sisters) arrive at the home to help unpack boxes, but instead rip open past wounds and memories that forces them all to face their demons.
What drives the much welcome humour in the play is the mother-son dynamic between Anthony, played by Anthony Nicola, and Elena Carapetis. How refreshing it is to see a supportive and freakin’ hilarious mother character on stage! Yes, she is a Wog mum, and therefore has no shame asking her son about his role in the bedroom, about Prep, and about leather chaps. This is the first time I've seen a play use leather chaps as a symbolic motif— and in this context, its genius. Carapetis is an absolute hoot. Amongst the spluttering laughter are the utterly gut-wrenching moments where Anthony reaches out to his mum for support in navigating Michael’s illness and what comes after, and Carapetis does so with a superb sense of motherly tenderness.
Nicola truly is a star in this piece. He is just so real, natural, and evokes an effortless ease that instantly has the audience on side. In over an hour, he is able to masterfully portray the multiple facets of grief so earnestly— from delirium, to anger, to sadness, to peace and all in between.
Playing one of Michael’s oldest friends Justin, is the icon Paul Capsis, and what a treat it is to have him in this work. Capsis fully embodies the camp, chaotic and riotous older gay who masks his lifetime of grief under a dark sense of humour. He calls the others ‘darling’ and lands every killer punchline. Towards the end of the play, his strong facade lowers to reveal his human side in a comforting moment between the three men.
Paul Reichstein’s character Jamie is initially clearly hiding a huge secret. When all is revealed, collective heartbreak and grief collide and all three men are forced to clean up the debris. Reichstein is another standout performer, encapsulating the human tendency to avoid out of fear rather than face tragedy. He is controlled by the very real myths and fears that forever surround HIV and tenderly reveals what it all cost him.
I’m not going to spoil where the show actually gets the name Log Boy from, but the onstage banter and dynamic between Nicola, Capsis and Reichstein is absolutely superb to witness, particularly in the “Log Boy” story..! Add Chris Asimos as Leather Daddy into the mix, and you have yourself a delicious addition of a grungey ghost and gut-bustingly outrageous scenes.
The work accurately portrays the resentment carried between separate generations and how they continue to splinter relationships. Justin admits avoiding Prep so as to not “cheat death,” Anthony resents them for getting to be with Michael when he was healthy. Yet Nocera’s piece gives them all the opportunity to bond over shared loss, accentuating the shared fears of the gay community no matter one’s age.
Jason Sweeny’s horror-cross-steampunk soundtrack that thumps across the work perfectly encapsulates the play’s deliriously dark tone. Chris Petridis’ lighting design echoes this with red and blue strobes when the action gets raunchy, resembling some underground, nightmarish nightclub. Riley Spadaro’s direction across all the performance and production elements perfectly tie the work together as a love letter to not only Nocera’s former partner Jamie, but the entire queer community in Australia.
Log Boy is a success story about how taking risks in the performing arts pays off. From my fellow thespians I've spoken to, it's been unanimously agreed how surprising and refreshing seeing a work like this in Adelaide has been. The ancient rumours that our city is “too conservative” for a piece like this are outdated. Navigating grief and relationships are equally human experiences, and Log Boy affirms how leaning into humour and absurdity can help us all heal and understand each other better. Adelaide, it will be a future flex if you say you saw this first, do not miss it.
~ By Sophie Tsoulos
Show Run: till 10th October
Theatre: Adelaide College of the Arts, Main Theatre
Tickets: https://statetheatrecompany.com.au/shows/log-boy/
Discounts: $35 for Under 30 and Students
Photography: Jonathan van der Knaap