The setting for Trophy Boys at Carriageworks was simple. A spinning whiteboard, and high school tables and chairs; a typical classroom. However, the themes in this dark satire are not simple – and the 70 minutes are spent delving into what it means to have the youthful arrogance of being seventeen, a privileged life and the perks that come from attending an exclusive boys’ school.
It is the night of the final Year 12 debate between St Imperium College and their sister school. The four boys, Owen, Scott, David and Jared, are preparing to confidently obtain the trophy and the glory of winning, especially after winning for many consecutive years beforehand.
However, the board spins around and the topic they are to argue clearly throws them into panic. Their topic is to argue that feminism has failed women. Their initial reaction showed their fears, that they did not want to be cancelled, or portrayed as an anti-feminist. “I love women!” Jared (Fran Sweeney-Walsh) declares several times throughout the show. Is Jared trying to convince the audience, or himself? Sweeney-Walsh created a believable Jared, a jock who I could imagine being comfortable on the footy field with his mates, as well as having high tea in the Queen Victoria Building with his mum.
In one of the play’s initial scenes, where the four friends perform a type of strip tease dance for the audience garnered many laughs from the audience. This posturing of the boys showed their youth and confidence, and by the end of the play, I wondered if this scene had a deeper meaning. Perhaps the deliberate choice of having a non-binary and female cast dressed in drag, and as boys, doing a strip tease, presented a masculine point undermining feminism? Or it could simply have been a bit of comic relief of teenaged boys, before the heavier topics arose.
The audience doesn’t get to see the actual debate. This play is in real time, of the discussions and secrets revealed about each student during the pre-debate prep session, and this is what makes Trophy Boys original. By being an observer, the audience is taken along into a performance focusing on each boy’s character, all of whom consider themselves to be elite in their fancy school uniforms adorned with badges (from the cast’s actual school days), but whose actions provoke suspect as each boy’s façade is exposed. The name of their school, St Imperium College, already exudes ‘absolute power’ as does the name of the play, and I felt that at the beginning, the boys would have considered themselves as somewhat a “trophy” to anyone they dated.
All cast members had powerful performances, with Gaby Seow as Scott and Leigh Lule as David carrying the story further. Myfanwy Hocking as Owen delivered a speech towards the end which captivated the audience. Lighting designer Katie Stefkidis’ spotlight on the characters provided a sharp impact to their words.
Trophy Boys’ writer Emmanuelle Mattana was a competitive high school debater so could bring the nature of the preparation to the stage. She had been subject of misogynistic remarks from boys in the opposing debating team, and a historic sexual assault allegation from 1988 spurred her on to write Trophy Boys. Mattana also took on the role of Scott onstage from 2022-2024.
Directed by Marni Mount, Trophy Boys is a social commentary about the ingrained nature of toxic masculinity in today’s world, homophobia and the power of privilege that protects its own people, no matter what.
I saw Trophy Boy’s opening performance on Thursday 24th July 2025, which ended with a standing ovation.
Trophy Boys is playing at Carriageworks from 24 July to 3 August and will be touring at the Riverside Theatre from 6- 9 August 2025.
www.carriageworks.com.au/events/trophy-boys-2025
www.riversideparramatta.com.au/whats-on/trophy-boys
To book tickets to Trophy Boys, please visit https://carriageworks.com.au/events/trophy-boys-2025/.
Photographer: Carriageworks,Ben Andrews
