Published for Demure Magazine.

Adolescence is a time of fumbling through fledgling relationships with the clumsiness of children who trip over themselves. Adulthood, too, is unfortunately not all that different. All the tricky, muddy, bloody mess we make and the love we struggle to contain is captured perfectly in this absolutely stellar performance from actors Eliza Learmonth and Jay Gold in Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries.

Equally as dark as it is funny, Gruesome Playground Injuries is an emotional tidal storm set across a 30-year period. Held in the intimate Motley Bauhaus Theatrette, the duo command the space and the emotions of their audience as we follow the lives of Kayleen and Doug, two childhood best friends repeatedly drawn back together.

Presented by the collective from Out To Lunch Theatre, including director Ez Kenworthy, this fast-paced production is an assortment of agile costume changes, non-linear time jumps and bloodied bandages. Eliza and Jay’s performances use minimal set design with maximum effect, centring the complex personalities of each character as they grow up and apart.

Throughout their story, the characters fall both physically and mentally. They meet in a school sick bay and quickly bond over their ailments, a scene infused with curiosity and playfulness. As they age, subtle lighting changes and music mark the passage of time. Opening with Old Songs from Betty Wright & The Roots was a beautifully apt introduction, followed by indie tracks from Blood Orange and nostalgic classics from The Ronettes.

Performers Eliza and Jay wholly embody their characters’ personas, filling the set with a graceless yet enduring love. Kayleen, played by Eliza, is a cynical woman, and Eliza infuses her role with a strong Aussie twang that brings to life the character’s nature and context. Her best friend Doug, played by Jay, is an earnest bumbler with unwavering loyalty to Kayleen. Jay’s performance takes us on a journey through Doug’s early adulthood as we witness his unrelenting affection for Kayleen shift in both shape and intensity. Adolescence is explored from all its awkward angles as Doug and Kayleen discuss sex, family, and romance, occasionally bursting into tense arguments that feel uncomfortably real.

Doug and Kayleen’s dynamic often feels like a thwarted romance, a closeness blocked by trauma that draws lines down the centre of their lives. As Doug pulls closer, Kayleen fights him off. While she’s unable to let him in, she feigns a kind of independence that collapses in on itself whenever her friend disappears. Eliza and Jay bring that dynamic to life, creating tender moments of dancing and embrace, their energy is palpable and, at times, heartbreaking. Despite Doug’s ailments growing ever more dramatic, the play is filled with perfectly timed dark humour that keeps you laughing despite the pair’s mishaps. Gruesome Playground Injuries pays homage to the unbearable weight of growing up and the friendships we collect along the way.

The show explores the tragedy and complexities of grief, sexual consent, and mental illness. A performance loaded with subtext and unspoken feeling, each performer takes their turn to try to heal and support the other, often stumped by something broken within themselves. Witnessing that clumsy, knotted dynamic shift between individuals over multiple decades gives the audience something relatable, finding familiar elements to reflect upon in their own experiences.

As the debut act from the newly formed Out To Lunch production company, this is a spectacular and hilarious show with all the emotion you could hope for from an intimate theatre performance.

Gruesome Playground Injuries is showing at The Motley Bauhaus in Carlton from October 31st to November 2nd. Shows run from 7 – 8 pm.