Trophy Boys | Soft Tread & The Maybe Pile
All images: Ben Andrews
It’s not always easy to balance sharp political and social commentary with genuinely entertaining theatre, but Emmanuelle Mattana’s Trophy Boys manages to do just this, delivering a show that’s just as laugh-out-loud funny as it is emotionally biting and politically urgent. Making its Brisbane debut at QPAC after a string of sell-out seasons and critical acclaim in Australia and the US, this queer black-comedy offers a gripping interrogation of the pervasive cultures of misogyny and toxic masculinity in private boys’ schools (and beyond).
The play centres on the Year 12 debating team of the elite St Imperium boys’ school, who are gearing up to seal their winning streak against the rival girls’ school team at the debating tournament grand final. Backed by a testosterone-fuelled chant of “Yeah the boys!”, the four boys—Owen (Myfanwy Hocking), David, (Leigh Lule), Scott (Gaby Seow), and Jared (Fran Sweeney-Nash)—enter their allocated hour of debate prep on a cocky high. They’re confident that beating the girls’ team will be a breeze, until their debate topic is revealed: Feminism has failed women (affirmative). Chaos immediately erupts; how can they possibly argue against feminism? They love women! Desperate to avoid getting cancelled while still annihilating the girls’ team at the debate, the boys launch into strategising. However, their animated brainstorming session—featuring a saucy dance break that had the audience whooping and whistling in delight—is soon interrupted by a shocking revelation that changes the stakes entirely and brings dark secrets and hypocrisies to light.
Mattana’s script is brilliantly crafted, with razor-sharp dialogue and masterful handling of complex social and political issues. Its characters are exaggerated yet uncomfortably familiar, and the cast do an excellent job of breathing them to life under the keen creative eye of director Marni Mount. The four boys are each different, but together form a frighteningly recognisable portrait of male privilege and performativity in action. Hocking captivates and unnerves the audience as the anxious yet ambitious Owen, expertly balancing the character’s nervous energy and strategic cunning. Sweeney-Nash earns a lot of well-deserved laughs as the charismatic Jared, who happily proclaims his love of women at every turn, but whose feminism is skin-deep. Seow’s performance as Scott is wonderfully layered, exuding an inflated macho energy that is funny at first, but soon shifts into something much sadder and more complex. Lule is equally excellent to watch as the less-showy and more introspective David, gradually revealing the resentment and discontent lying beneath his measured exterior.
All images: Ben Andrews
In addition to this commendable character work, the decision to employ an all-female and non-binary cast is integral to the play’s satirical landing. The production’s use of drag is both playful and pointed, positioning masculinity—especially the toxic kind exhibited by the four boys—as performative.
These ideas are well supported by the production’s design elements. The set—designed by Mount, Mattana, and Ben Andrews—is simple but clever: a classroom containing five desks and chairs, a whiteboard, and, most strikingly, a series of portraits of iconic, accomplished women. There’s a powerful irony in this decision to decorate an all-male space with images of women, and their silent, watchful presence serves as a strong reminder of the voices missing from the “feminist” debates playing out on stage.
Beyond its brilliantly camp comedy, what really lingers after Trophy Boys is a distinct sense of unease, a recognition that the boys’ toxic behaviours and hypocrisies are not confined to their fictional world, but ripple dangerously through our own educational institutions, workplaces, and social structures. It’s the kind of play that ignites important reflective conversations; as I left the theatre, I even heard a younger audience member comment that one of the characters reminded them of a boy in their grade at school, affirming the play’s relevance here and now. This clever and confronting—but still wonderfully entertaining—production is political theatre at its sharpest, and I hope it continues to have a long life on both national and international stages.
Trophy Boys plays at QPAC’s Cremorne Theatre until Saturday 30th of August 2025.
