The music and sounds of queer party culture to fill stage
Winner of the 2015 Midsumma Queer Playwrighting Award and shortlisted for the Red Stitch INK new writing program in the same year, this November Angus Cameron’s award-winning play finally gets its wrist stamped and hits the stage at Melbourne’s most holy Chapel Off Chapel.
cavemxn is an electric ride through the lives of Mike, Tim, Chris, and Oscar – who are friends. Sort of. They definitely all know each other. Spanning five years and three continents, audiences are invited to join this crazed quartet as they crash in and out of each other’s lives, hurtling through hook-ups, raves, saunas, and airports. And as the bonds between them are pulled into focus, each will have to confront within themselves the reality of who they are… and what they actually want.
Forged by the multi-award-winning team behind DIRT and Naomi, cavemxn features an outstanding cast of local talent and is an explosive queer odyssey about life, love, and intimacy in the digital age.
“As Melburnians I think we’re really used to seeing a particular type of queer play”, explains producer/actor Patrick Livesey.
“You know there’s going to be sequins, there’s going to be camp, there’s probably going to be glitter makeup. It’s a thing that has become really quite iconic and recognisable. With cavemxn we’re excited to mess with that. The world we’re creating is still highly theatrical, but the characters are raw and vulnerable, and honestly quite brutal.
The music and sounds of queer party culture are also the building blocks of the world Angus has created. Nightlife is a really unifying force for us as queer people, it’s where most of us find our sense of self expression, so to be bringing that into the world of the play and allowing that to underscore the work is not only extremely aurally satisfying but really means a lot to us.”
Directed by multi-award-winner Bronwen Coleman (Best Theatre Fringeworld, Frank Ford Award, Critics Prize Adelaide Fringe, Mindshare Mental Health Awareness Award), this premiere production also proudly acknowledges, and is a celebration of, the 40th Anniversary of the Decriminalisation of Homosexuality in Victoria – making 2022 the perfect time to spotlight queer stories in our state. A dynamic and compelling addition to the final months on this years’ Arts Calendar, cavemxn promises to be yet another compelling and engaging production from producer Patrick Livesey.
Written by Angus Cameron, the cast includes Patrick Livesey, Harvey Zielinski and Yuchen Wang with final cast members still to be announced.
For more information or tickets visit the Chapel Off Chapel website.
Media release supplied.
