Queensland Theatre’s latest production, Drizzle Boy, follows a young, autistic boy as he embarks on his journey into adulthood and manhood taking back his story from a world of misunderstanding with irreverence and audacity.
Opening on 16 March, Drizzle Boy will follow the titular Drizzle Boy, portrayed by Daniel R Nixon (A Chorus Line, On The Town), in his first weeks at university as his parents, portrayed by Naomi Price (Ladies in Black, Rumour Has It) and Kevin Spink (Antigone, First Casualty), adapt to his burgeoning independence and even his first love.
“Drizzle Boy is a classic coming-of-age story dealing with themes of hope, fear, love and independence, but it’s from the perspective of a neurodivergent person, which is something that I’ve never seen before,” said writer, Ryan Enniss.
Drizzle Boy is a play about Australian identity, an identity that Ryan believes we are only just starting to explore. “In Australian media, I feel like we’re only just finding our identity and telling our own stories in the past five or 10 years. For people like myself, who are neurodivergent, there are moments in this play where they will feel seen and represented in a way they haven’t before. For a broader Australia, there are moments where they will feel seen, held and noticed from a new perspective.”
Queensland Theatre Artistic Director Lee Lewis is hopeful that both Drizzle Boy and the opportunities created by the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award will lead Australian storytelling into a new era.
“This particularly Queensland Premier’s Drama Award was an opportunity to take the temperature of the nation at a time when things were changing hugely. It was an opportunity to understand the kinds of theatre that we’re going to be seeing in the next few years, stories that feel much more forward looking opposed to nostalgic for any past,” said Lewis.
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