FootyBoy is a crossover of the theatre and football community that I was not expecting. From the moment I walked into the Rehearsal Room 1 stage in the depths of the State Theatre Centre, I was met with a projection of highlights from AFL and men’s AFL games. With every goal, the crowd cheered. This was just while people were finding their seats—the show hadn’t even started yet!
The story follows a mixed-gender football team, the Dolphins, through a football season. The star player, James, played by Michael Kavanagh, is living in the shadow of his dad, who is a Footy God, played by Brad Francis. It was nice to see a mature actor in a production, and his voice-overs and hilarious angelic final scene were his best parts. The play explores themes of masculinity across the generations in a very bloke-y football setting. James’ struggle as a young male athlete who can never please his emotionally distant father presented a solid representation of generational differences in the gendered expectations of men. The climax of the show came when he was able to stop living in his father’s shadow, step aside, and live life his own way.
The mixed-gender football team is led by the confident captain Hands, played by Alice Schlipalius. Her character brings mental health and spirituality into the locker room. Her comedic timing is effortless, with expertly delivered laughs that didn’t hog the spotlight. Meanwhile, Jai Craig-Fraser, known for his beautiful movement in other works such as Ask, showed absolute athleticism in his portrayal of Cox. The team also included Butter, played by Summer Rule, who brought a fun teenage demeanour that floated around with an air of romanticism. Her humour shone through in the scenes she had alone with her crush, James, which were dripping with awkwardness and hesitation to make the first move. Yet with all that going on, the chemistry between Hands and Cox was also full of sexual tension that peaked with a red-light sports massage scene when they were alone. The physical humour throughout all the erotic, awkward, and other moments was so much fun.
FootyBoy
The choreography didn’t quite land in the faster moments that synchronised all four players via game day montages on the field. The high point of the choreography came in the slow-motion segments, where you could feel the collective intake of air in the room. While the ensemble only just missed the mark, I was impressed that every single one of those theatre kids could throw a pigskin so well.
There was a standout moment where we went back in time to James’ childhood when he was a toddler having a kick with his dad, who was at the peak of his footy career at that time. With only a change of shirt for the latter, and a change in posture and speech pattern for the former, these simple yet effective details were all it took to transport the audience to another place and time. This age-regression scene utilised brilliant manipulation that makes you amazed at how little you have to suspend your disbelief.
Bringing footy fans to the theatre was an unforeseen congregation of a different audience. With that came different expectations of theatre etiquette. I didn’t realise the difference between what’s acceptable when watching the game in your lounge room or at the oval, and what’s acceptable in a theatre, was not part of the collective conscience. Perthlings aren’t known for their impeccable manners, so maybe that one’s on me.
It’s not all complaints, though. With that noise came a more lively-than-average theatre crowd. This audience didn’t have the characteristic reluctance that I usually encounter in local theatrical settings. No encouragement was needed to prompt engagement with the people on stage and let the enjoyment be known. With every siren sound, they instinctively cheered, and there was a moment where the audience started chanting, which I’m not entirely sure was scripted. We need more cultural cross-pollination like this to liven up hesitant theatre audiences.
Footyboy is an authentic portrayal of men’s struggles that showed all facets of masculinity without being self-indulgent, self-deprecating, or alienating to non-male audiences. I recommend this show to anyone who likes footy.
FootyBoy is on at Rehearsal Room 1 at State Theatre Centre of WA until Feb 8.