Politicians and power are put under the microscope in this superbly written play about climate change.
These Youths Be Protesting, the third production from Blinking Light, is a smorgasbord of good acting, strong dialogue, and nuanced design. Playing at KXT on Broadway and reflecting the company’s ethos of sustainable theatre in both story and spirit, its energy leaves audiences feeling invigorated, empowered, and focused on climate change during a crucial period in Australian politics.
These Youths Be Protesting is written and directed by Izabella Louk, who also helms Blinking Light. Her story concerns Lemon (Karrine Kanaan), Jimbo (Hamish Alexander), Mandi (Mây Trần) and Georgie (Rachel Thomas), students of Sunlake Downs High School in the mining electorate of Morseby. Lemon’s lust for school captaincy leads her to recruiting the remaining trio into the school’s recycling club, with their low-level bake sale quickly spiralling into a bitter feud with their mine-friendly MP about the future of the local dunes. This feud, and the personal differences of the characters, brings with it serious questions about virtue signalling, friendships, and what it means to protest against climate change.
Louk’s script is fantastic. It has a fantastic flow and lets the story unfold gradually. Its greatest strength is that it continually develops the characters, giving them real authenticity and depth. Its moments of humour are balanced well with serious character analyses and exploration of its subject matter. Though sometimes over-indulging in preachy monologues, it is consistently of outstanding quality and is the primary reason the show is so good.
The cast’s performances reflect both a great chemistry and many of the script’s strengths. Kanaan portrays Lemon well, playing up her megalomaniacal and two-faced nature to great comic and dramatic effect. However, she appears more limited by her tropes than the other performers. Alexander, by contrast, puts on a show-stealing performance as Hamish. His slow drawl perfectly captures Jimbo’s misconceived air-headedness, which the actor (and Louk’s script) beautifully rebut through dialogue revealing Jimbo’s thoughtful, genuine stance on climate change. Alexander enlivens the comedy of Jimbo’s air-headedness and then flips this at key moments for a truly memorable first outing on stage.
Trần plays into Mandy’s outcast status well, with a very passionate monologue towards the play’s end. Thomas comically embodies Georgie’s naivety and draws strong sympathy for what her character goes through, though sometimes feels too ancillary to the action on stage.
Direction from Louk keeps the performance tight and is especially notable for its incorporation of sustainability. This has been noted in reviews for previous Blinking Light shows and is again the case here. This concept is obvious in the plot but also more implicitly in the set design (Paris Bell) and props. The reverse engineering of old corflutes to represent the story’s fictional MP is particularly well done. It is great to see a theatre company practicing what they preach– even if, as their social media suggests, that means a lot of dumpster diving.
Ultimately, These Youths Be Protesting is brilliantly executed. With the federal election underway and climate change action required urgently, this show is much needed right now.
