Set on the biggest night of Melbourne’s academic calendar, ‘Trophy Boys’ follows the all-boys debate team from an elite private school, tasked with arguing how “feminism has failed women”.
From rave reviews, and sell out shows, 'Trophy Boys' returns to the stage, amid growing success and relevance in society.
Part satirical, black comedy – and part drag extravaganza, 'Trophy Boys' follows a group of teenage boys (played by female and non-binary performers in drag) from the mind of Emmanuelle Mattana. “They are debating feminism, whilst. . . Not getting themselves cancelled!”
“It was borne out of the Christian Porter allegations, a historical sexual assault that took place at a high school debating tournament,” Mattana muses. “It was very much like the schools I attended. I was a debater but dropped it once I moved from Sydney to Melbourne. It wasn’t until those allegations came back out that I felt like I was really compelled to revisit that time of my life.”
“My friends and I would always joke about how we probably knew the next Prime Minister, from these [debating] groups – as we grew up, we realised that joke was maybe not very funny.” Having debuted at La Mama Theatre in 2022, the production has met sold-out shows for subsequent years.
2024 Production - Image © Ben Andrews
“I wanted to try something completely different, and I was really involved in Melbourne’s drag scene at the time.”
Mattana reflects on her connection with comedy and drag, a key storytelling mode in 'Trophy Boys': “I think I was looking at masculinity and going, well, we all recognise that there’s some sort of crisis happening here but felt collectively that we didn’t really know how to grapple with it.”
“I thought that watching drag kings, and the people very much at the forefront of breaking down the binary, were some of the people I saw doing the best job – I was really inspired by that.”
No matter your city, or locale, we all know of one all-boys school where 'Trophy Boys' resonates. “I have had awful experiences with private school boys, being able to laugh and reclaim some sense of power has always been the goal.”
While the geo-political climate ebbs and flows, the themes that 'Trophy Boys' tackles are always current; misogyny, elitism, racism, power – but as Mattana reflects on the Cesar A. Cruz quote “art should comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable”, this work frames and articulates the microaggressions of all-boys schools, and the damage that could come from 'boys will be boys', especially when such esteemed men could grow into our future leaders.
'Trophy Boys' scored a nomination for Best Independent Production at the 2024 Sydney Theatre Awards, and four nominations at the 2023 Green Room Awards. With the success of the production down under, 'Trophy Boys' is set to take New York by storm in June, featuring a fresh adaptation for American audiences. “Changing the cultural references and what it means to be putting on a show like that under a Trump Presidency has been a fascinating process.”
While trans, gender-queer, and non-binary people across the country and the world are increasingly being used as political scapegoats, “I think 'Trophy Boys' is doing something radical and expansive.”
'Trophy Boys' plays Carriageworks (Sydney) 23 July-3 August, Riverside Theatres (Parramatta) 6-9 August, Arts Centre Melbourne 12-23 August, and QPAC (Brisbane) 25-30 August.
This story originally appeared on our queer sister site, FROOTY.
