Backbone Youth Arts sets the stage for Horseplay, a rollicking and provocative piece centreing on a Melbourne Cup Race Day gone awry, where a chance encounter in a staff break room between a waiter and two misguided punters delves into a morally ambiguous exploration of blurred lines between good and bad, life and death – and even person and horse.
Horseplay is perfectly aligned with Backbone’s raison d’être – to amplify the voices of curious, untamed and experimental young thinkers and artists; The play’s program notes much of the script and work was built using structured improvisation, in addition to the text of playwright Nathaniel Crossinggum, contextualizing the fresh and contemporary perspective of the script. Led by Director Jordon Riley, this singular and exciting work is brought to brilliant life by a talented group of cast and creatives alike.
Onstage, Edith Malcomson offers sweet naivety as Georgie, shining brightest in her character’s lighter, comedic moments. While a providing a very proficient overall performance, I consider she has further potential to impact her characters more vulnerable moments – i.e., the line “I’m not a revolutionary – I just want to be normal”, could perhaps benefit from greater introspection drawing the audience into her, rather than delivering the sentiment as squarely toward us. Stella Peterson is an effective Pony, competently canvassing a complex character’s duplicity and idealism. I consider Peterson also shows their best work during comedic scenes; They briefly branch into a different character, satirizing the middle-class’s indifference to climate catastrophe to hilarious perfection. As we learn, there is far more at stake for Pony than having their work break interrupted by Georgie and Harry; I wonder whether some added urgency and further hints as to their assumed identity could have elevated their role – and tapped into another potentially comedic aspect of the script even further – without belying the enigmatic secrecy intended for Pony.
Tenielle Plunkett brings compelling gravitas as the Commentator, combining striking physical presence, commanding diction and vocal projection and foreboding intensity. Their characterization feels almost sinister or nihilistic – somehow reminiscent of Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange – but this is such a well-modulated choice for sharing a world-weary perspective, unable to ignore or euphemize injustice. Henry Solomon as Harry is my standout, with impeccable comedic instincts and a natural, comfortable presence – whether embodying a human or equine character. While Harry is a flawed character, Solomon harnesses likability from the rogue – when not being literally harnessed himself!
Overall, Horseplay gallops through it’s one hour duration – keeping the audience enthralled throughout. The puppetry, set, sound and lighting all provide features of note. While there are a couple of moments where transitions in the story may have lacked clarity i.e., the reveal of Pony’s identity and their motivation for the shooting – such criticism is minor. Horseplay is creative theatre chaos with a conscience, and enormous potential to be developed as a full-length play, that could give the ambitious story breathing room which is not easily accommodated in just one act. The passion for diverse, accessible theatre is evident here – as much as the audience’s love for every facet of Horseplay was throughout the play – deservedly punctuated by a rapturous standing ovation at the end of opening night’s performance.
To book tickets to Horse Play, please visit https://backbone.org.au/backbone-festival-2025-events/horse-play.
