OPENING UP WITH AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Here is a play that Brisbane audiences need to see. Written by Angus Cameron, directed by Hayden Burke, and produced by 7th Floor Theatre, Australian Open is wicked, superbly acted, with a fast-paced script that just keeps giving. It is clever, it is gritty, it has just the right amount of uncomfortable to pique your attention. Tennis, open relationships, and skeletons in the closet – get ready for a wild ride that is thoroughly entertaining!

The play opens with generic questions about the universe: some simple laws that explain the relationships between bodies in space. For example, gravity? We don’t necessarily fully understand it, but we accept it as part of the natural order. A lively physicist (Whitney Duff) explains to us that all things in the universe usually follow the rules of physics. The trouble is that the rules don’t apply when you step away from ‘normality’ and look at far removed outliers. What if it is something very small, or very large – or very socially uncomfortable? Then the beautiful, elegant rules no longer apply, and things can take a turn for something more unexpected – and out of hand.

We are at a birthday celebration. Felix (Tye Shepherd) is 31. He is in an open relationship with Lucas (Jackson Paul), a confident, albeit somewhat cocky, tennis star. When Felix and Lucas reveal their intention to continue their open relationship after marriage, Felix’s parents (Lisa Hickey and Sandro Colarelli) are shocked. And then comes the flood of restrained opinions, repressed desires, and all things bottled up that are suddenly pouring out like hot lava in a volcanic eruption.

It is not just marriage and relationships that are questioned, but parenting, sex, career, ambitions, expectations, fears, queerness—the hidden skeletons come out to bite! The cast do an amazing job in capturing real people, telling real stories, and making a real connection with the audience that gleefully laugh at some of the most Australian humour since The Castle. The actors bring warmth to the already brilliant script that helps the audience to identify at least with something in the deeply troubled lives of the five characters on stage (five, because the keen physicist at the beginning is actually Felix’s sister, who eventually joins the family fun).

It is good to see a production of this calibre gracing one of Brisbane’s smaller, yet not any lesser notable theatres. PIP Theatre in Milton, with its intimate setting, old-style theatre seats, and a beer garden, offers the perfect setting for this witty production, sure to be the topic of conversations well past its season.

Australian Open is at Pip Theatre in Milton, Brisbane until 18 January 2025.