‘Trophy Boys’ Is An Excellent Rhetoric Rally

By ASPEN ABNER

Trophy Boys is a relatively short, 70-minute play that requires no intervals because you’ll be captivated from beginning to end. 

The show begins and ends with four private school year 12 boys from St. Imperium College. The four are competing against their sister school in the grand finale championship debate competition. 

The boys have 60 minutes to prepare their argument.

They’re ready and pumped until they are tasked with debating the affirmative topic “feminism has failed women”.  A relevant, yet touchy, topic. 

The entire femme and non-binary queer performers play their roles extremely well – each representing a stereotypical male feminist in an infuriatingly, but oh-so-accurate, manner. 

In the first half, I laughed often. The characters’ natural dialogue and spot-on acting effortlessly encaptured high school boys. 

These characters attempt to strike a fine line between not being perceived as misogynistic and still arguing the question (remember: they can’t lose to girls). 

The backdrop is simplistic but effective. Photos line the wall of powerful women in modern history, their eyes watching as these four boys squirm under the growing pressure. 

It’s all fun and games until it’s not. The humorous satire on insecure adolescent masculinity in Trophy Boys takes a turn for the worse when a serious allegation comes to light. 

In such a short tight frame, the sharp, natural dialogue moves through a wide range of topics, including but not limited to toxic masculinity, misogyny, elitism, and homophobia. 

These topics aren’t new to the characters and they aren’t new to the audience. It’s unlikely to hear a new point that you haven’t debated or heard before.

What is brilliant about this piece is that it doesn’t preach the message you expect from such heavy-handed topics. Moreover, this play features younger characters who are often excluded from such critical discussions that still impact them.

The setup allows for multiple side-by-side conversations to exist that are all true, yet contradictory.

No matter your interest in debating, the ending will leave you discussing it for days.

When? June 19th to July 7th
Where? Seymour Centre
Tickets? $25pp, more info here