This review was originally published on the Limelight website, with editing by Jason Blake.

Plays about boys are in the zeitgeist right now, and specifically, awful posh boys. In the last 12 months alone, Sydney stages have had performances of Posh by Laura Wade at the Old Fitz, All Boys by Xavier Hazard at KXT, and Trophy Boys by Emmanuelle Mattana at the Seymour Centre – three plays that expose how environments of privilege embolden teenage boys to abuse their power and mistreat girls.

Now, Trophy Boys is back, opening the Sydney leg of its second national tour at Carriageworks before moving to Riverside Parramatta, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Directed by Marni Mount, the play satirises academically elite private schoolboys. The 70-minute comedy runs in real time, depicting the tense hour of prep before the senior boys of Imperium College compete against their rival girls’ school.

The twist? The four boys are performed by female and non-binary performers in drag, a choice that leads to rich observational humour by a charismatic ensemble.

The boys are tasked with debating against the merits of feminism. As they desperately try to compose a winning argument (while still coming across as “good guys”), they are hit with a bigger obstacle to the trophy: an anonymous online claim of sexual assault against one of them.

Premiered at La Mama in 2022, Trophy Boys has become a runaway hit, touring Australia twice. Mattana recently left the cast to take the script to New York, where it premiered Off-Broadway last month.

Considering the work’s journey from budget indie hit to nationally touring sensation, it feels like the production values haven’t caught up to its success.

The set design – a classroom decorated with framed images of modern feminist icons like RBG and Malala – does the job it needs to do but lacks sophistication.

The sound design, also by Andrews, is similarly adequate. In contrast, Katie Sfetkidis’s lighting design effectively grounds us in the classroom, while also playfully leaving reality when the script calls for it.

Mount has a good ear for comic timing, and her direction is strongest when conducting Mattana’s sharp dialogue. In the absence of Mattana (who originated Owen), Myfanwy Hocking steps into the cast and does well to keep up with the other three (Leigh Lule, Gaby Seow and Fran Sweeney-Nash), who have been in the show since 2022.

Just like Aaron Sorkin did with The Social Network, Mattana’s extremely clever script exposes how nerdy boys can be just as misogynistic as stereotypically ‘blokey’ ones.

Furthermore, Mattana argues, boys from backgrounds like this are perfectly positioned to weaponise their smarts and wealthy connections to astonishing career success despite bad behaviour.

The script ends on a pointed monologue where one character explicitly states this: that misconduct accusations do not ruin rich boys’ lives. It’s a heavy-handed moment which takes for granted the audience’s ability to understand the earlier satire.

This small stumble, although frustrating, doesn’t detract from Mattana’s status as one of Australia’s most exciting young writers. Trophy Boys is exceptional playwriting – tight, thoughtful and entertaining – and I’m sure the script will have a long life in Australia and beyond.

Jo Bradley

---

Trophy Boys plays at Carriageworks until 3 August; at Riverside Theatres Parramatta (August 6 – 9); at Arts Centre Melbourne (12 – 24 August) and at Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane (25 – 30 August)