After wowing audiences and critics alike in the Netflix smash-hit 'Heartbreak High', Logie Award winner Thomas Weatherall is jumping back into the deep in his original play, 'Blue', which makes its Queensland debut at La Boite Theatre.
Weatherall started writing 'Blue' when he was still a student in drama school.
“I lovingly refer to [writing] now as an act of therapy,” Weatherall explains while on the phone. “I was at a bit of a loss at what to do so I was journaling and writing poetry and writing thoughts that I was struggling to talk about, and found it a lot easier and safer to write.”
“It started to find shape as a play, but I never had any intention to perform it or share it with the world. One of my friends encouraged me to send it to Belvoir. . . And it’s really because of them that it kicked off the way that it did.”
'Blue' follows the story of a young man named Mark, who, after moving out of home, is forced to grow up and adapt after receiving the news no one wants to hear in a letter from his mother.
“He’s becoming an adult for the first time,” Weatherall explains. “He’s recently moved out of home and he’s fallen into a relationship, and he’s in his early 20s and has already experienced his fair share of loss and grief, and has had to grow up quite quickly.”
“This is just another chapter of him having to find his own feet without family or anything around him, and really coming to terms with how he can find the hope and meaning in life, and purpose while in the face of adversity, when it feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.”
Weatherall is looking forward to delving into the role once again at La Boite, premiering 'Blue' to rave reviews during the 2023 Sydney Festival season; but the acclaimed actor admits, returning to such a role that he wrote during an intensely personal time, comes with its challenges and surprises.
“It’s a funny experience. . . There’s things about it that I’d go 'that’s what 19-year-old Tom thought and not what 23-year-old Tom thinks', and there’s this balance of finding what it's about and what still stands with me. In the same way, it can be nice now that I can separate myself with it and come to terms with things a bit more and be more equipped about how to talk about that.”
Mark in 'Blue' is not the only role Weatherall is jumping back into. He’s also reprising his role as Malakai Mitchell in season two of 'Heartbreak High', a role which earned him both a Logie and AACTA Award. “It’s quite funny, they are the two constants I keep coming back to and with one, I’m doing the same script every night, and in the other the character changes, but they are currently the two staples in my creative life.”
“If you enjoyed the first season – there’s the exact same thing. . . Heartbreak, drama, suspense and a whodunnit storyline. The writers have done a great job. Audiences can also expect to see a lot more from characters that didn’t have as much to do in the first season and we are introducing more characters. . . There’s chaos, absurdity, and heartbreak. I’m very excited to see how the audiences find it.”
'Blue' plays La Boite Theatre (Brisbane) 16 May-1 June.
