After dazzling audiences in 2023 and making history as Australia's first ever neurodivergent character portrayed by a neurodivergent actor on a main stage, Ryan Enniss' 'Drizzle Boy' has returned.
The story follows a young autistic boy, embarking on his journey into adulthood and manhood. . . As he takes back his story from a world of misunderstanding with irreverence and audacity.
'Drizzle Boy' is directed by Queensland Theatre's Matilda Award-winning Associate Artistic Director (Programming) Daniel Evans, and written by neurodivergent playwright Ryan Enniss. It stars Daniel R Nixon ('A Chorus Line', 'On The Town') as Drizzle Boy, who is encountering his first weeks at university.
He's poked, prodded, and diagnosed by a world intent on changing him, and surrounded by a family who are struggling to understand him. On his first day of university, when he meets Juliet, everything seems possible – even his life-long dream of building a rocket and blasting off to the stars!
Here, Drizzle Boy himself, Daniel R Nixon, lists his top five lines from the show.
Image © Morgan Roberts
Five
“If he’s stardust, then he’s not really gone.” This line beautifully demonstrates Juliet’s connection to Drizzle Boy in that moment. She decides to open up about her father’s passing and uses an analogy Drizzle Boy shared on their first date. I’ve always felt this line brings them closer together. It also encourages Drizzle Boy to open up about his feelings which is a real turning point for him in the play.Four
“Be scared, but do it anyway.” This is such a powerful, simple reminder of how to approach challenges in life. I find it so motivating and encouraging. It just so happens to be mum’s final line in the play. We originally hear this line from Valentina Tereshkova earlier on the in play, but one theory I like to think is that it’s actually something mum says to her son a lot, it’s just that throughout their strained relationship he’s never really acknowledged what’s she’s saying to him, and he only discovers this thought through his meeting with Tereshkova when he’s actually seeking guidance. I think that gives it real depth. I often repeat it in my head during moments when I don’t want to do or say something. It reminds me that life is fleeting and that we should say and do what we truly feel.Three
Dad has a really lovely monologue towards the end of the play. What I really love is that that we clearly see dad’s journey in his final words. You can see him, in the present moment, learning how to have an adult conversation with his son – something he hasn’t really done before. In this moment, he learns to open himself up a little more and be more vulnerable than he might like. He finishes his speech with the line, “You’re five stars, mate.” I love how it encapsulates everything that dad stands for: his love of movies but also his love for his son.
Image © Morgan Roberts
Two
“If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met ONE autistic person.” I thought hard about putting this line as number one. It embodies so much of what the play speaks to. I love that every time this line is said, the audience has an audible reaction. It’s so reaffirming to know the audience is with us from that moment onward. The main reason I didn’t choose this as number one is that I feel the play is more than this. It’s not just about showing another 'version' of autism; it’s about the complexities of this one particular person and also the people who surround him. That’s an important distinction that helps keep the play grounded. But it’s still a great line to say as an actor, and I always feel enabled to deliver it with strength and confidence, knowing how much it means to me personally.One
Number one has to be one of the lines in the final scene. Drizzle Boy says to the audience, “Lightyears away, I see a ten-year-old boy standing on the roof of his house. . . And I wish I could tell him he’s fine. Just the way he is”. This line always carries a lot of weight – not only within the context of the show but also, I think, for many people in the audience. It makes them reflect deeply. It can sometimes be a hard line to deliver, as it holds a lot of emotion and resonates deeply with me. I remember on our opening night in 2023, I got very emotional saying this line for the first time in front of a full audience. It felt like everything in my life had built up to that moment, and I thought a lot about my ten-year-old self that night.'Drizzle Boy' plays Canberra Theatre Centre 13-16 November and Redland Performing Arts Centre (Queensland) 21 November.
