Men, Love and the Monkeyboy

"I see through you man. 

You pretend to be a kitten with the ladies, but I know you. 

Deep down you're an ape, just like me."

Winner

The Parnassus Den Mitch Matthews Award (2008)

Shortlisted

The Griffin Award (2007)

Phillip spends his days studying primate behaviour.  His specialist subject?  The Gorilla: man's second closest cousin.  He needn't look far for inspiration.

Dad, Robbo, lives in fear his son might be gay; his brother-in-law Dave has lost his sex drive since his wife's promotion; and his best mate Rex seems determined to prove his virility by screwing anything that moves.

When Phillip meets Chelsea he’s offered a glimpse of another life – one in which he can finally leave the pack behind and become his own man.   But what type of man?

Offering a glimpse into the secret life of men, the play explores the rituals of modern-day manhood to ask the question, have we truly made it out of the jungle?

LENGTH

90 mins

CAST

2 Females, 4 Males

REVIEWS

“This production is universally enjoyable. The script is tight and the humour is so acutely Australian that the audience feels like they are being genuinely included in the jokes”

Alex Lalak, The Daily Telegraph

"Lewis knows how to plot.  The play is welcome for taking a hard and occasionally confronting look at the mythos and rituals of a subset of Australian masculinity.

Steven Dunne, Sydney Morning Herald

“Men, Love and the Monkeyboy triumphs in its fusion of comedy and heart.”

City Search

"The opening scene was explosive and unpredictable and set the tone for the rest of the play- high drama one moment, high comedy the next.  So simple, but so tickled the ‘Ahowclever' gland. Very good stuff"

Lee Bemrose, The Drum Media

"Lewis has a good feel for dialogue and comedy. He creates dramatic moments that have us by turns, laughing, cringing, shaking our head in disbelief and empathising with the characters.  Monkeyboy is witty, insightful and entertaining."

Jo Litson, The Sunday Telegraph

"An original writer with immediate appeal, Lewis has a terrific ear for dialogue and he strikes the right chord here with an often hilarious social satire about the lives and loves of the white-bread Australian male."

Sydney Express

"A close, comic appraisal of Australian manhood.   Lewis’s script yields plenty of comedy but avoids caricature.  There’s enough narrative sophistication and finessed dialogue to keep swinging, the result is a very funny play."

Time Out