Cirrus@Austlit

'From beers and brotherhood to loss and loneliess, this endearing story uncovers the hidden side of finding yourself in a world filled with complexity and confusion. Crafted from interviews with over ninety young people, the four mates at the heart of Nineteen reflect the hopes and fears of the next generation.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'There is an increasingly accepted connection between issues surrounding male identity and destructive and anti-social behaviours. These expressions of unhealthy notions of masculinity have been the focus of various initiatives and investigations into contemporary male health and wellbeing. Issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, violence against others, self-harm and suicide have been the subjects of official reports, research projects, social welfare campaigns and even television shows. The theatre, as a site for social intervention, can thus contribute to this increasing focus on, and attempts to shift, outdated and unhealthy understandings of 'what it means to be a man'. 

'This paper examines the interventionist nature of theatre to explore, unpack and attempt to alter perceptions of the contemporary Australian male identity through the fusing of Ethnotheatre, Ethnodrama and Theatre of Tensions. As a result, theatre can intercept long-held, traditional (re)presentations of masculinity in order to reinvent them, thereby offering perceptibly healthier alternatives to masculine ways of being.' (Abstract)

'Four blokes, four beers, one hour and one actor. This honest and darkly funny tale introduces you to four mates who meet at the same bar at the same time every year. But this year, it’s different…

'A dark and dangerous secret brings these blokes together in an unbreakable bond of mateship and solidarity. On the eve of their annual get-together, the truth is in danger of being let out. As his mates rally around our main character, George, in an effort to protect him from whatever consequences may come, he takes this final moment of safety to reveal all to the audience before their lives are changed forever.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.