just a boy, standing in front of a girl


La Mama Courthouse, October 2018
Return season: August 2021 (up to preview - Covid lockdowns knocked it out from opening night!)
15 Minutes From Anywhere
 

 

Just a Boy, Standing in Front of a Girl  follows J and M as they fall in love and hit the road in search of fame and fortune. A contemporary and subversive re-imagining of events surrounding a classic text, Just a Boy is a parable of the patriarchy that shows what happens when you’re young, talented, smart, strong and female! 
 

playwright - Jane Miller
director
 – Beng Oh
with – Keith Brockett, John Marc Desengano, Annie Lumsden, Andrea McCannon and Glenn van Oosterom
set and costume designer – Emily Collett
lighting designer – Dans Maree Sheehan
sound designer - Zac Kazepis
stage manager - Daniel Barca
production manager - Tanje Ruddick
production photos - Lachlan Woods

 

'Just A Boy, Standing In Front Of A Girl is played in traverse which is perfect for the picaresque structure of the play. As the actors run on and off stage it is like the pages in a book or photo album are being flipped to tell the next part of the story. Collett has created a wonderfully simple but clever palette to move the story through its 3 act structure and Beng Oh has directed the set changes well, not allowing the energy to drop.

As each of the three layers are revealed the depth of Collett's understanding of the world of the play is revealed and her choice in the final act is genius, moving us out of the literal just as Miller moves us out of the comical into a completely different realm of being, into another version of truth in this 'progress'..'
Samsara, www.whatdidshethink.com


’The set and costume design by Emily Collett, particularity the simple yet creative way the stage is constructed and utilised - along with Beng Oh's direction during the set changes - reinforces the emotions of its characters and the tone of the narrative. Even with a restricted space and having the actors perform in a narrow traverse, Oh uses the aesthetic minimalism to allow the actors to vividly create this world through their words, facial expressions and actions.’
Myran My, www.mymelbournearts.com