A Punch in the Face
Written by Rainer Hachfeld
Directed by Nadine Helmi
With Jason Dean, Karren Lewis, Veronica Whelan and Heath Ward
Surf 'n' Theatre Company
Bondi Pavilion Theatre
Review by Brendan Doyle
The Surf 'n' Theatre Company, based in Bondi, is one of the most exciting developments in theatre aimed at young people. Inspired by the famous Grips-Theater in Berlin, Surf 'n' Theatre has adapted some of the German company's most successful plays for Australian audiences, with outstanding results.
Their previous production, Mr Nguyen Throws a Party, was a comedy about racism between an Anglo and a Vietnamese family. A Punch in the Face is about bullying, the search for acceptance and sexual curiosity in a year 10 class, and a young person who could not cope.
The play starts with the funeral of Matt, a 16-year-old who committed suicide.
The audience at the day performance I attended were also year 10 students, who quickly responded to the irreverent teenage characters, Lucky and Mandy, making wisecracks about the funeral and their former schoolmate. Two minutes into the show, the unruly audience were hooked, drawn into a world they clearly found to be utterly truthful, full of anarchic energy and very funny.
This fast-moving play is made up of loosely connected scenes showing the daily life of the four schoolmates, with strong musical interludes by Dry, a local band.
After the funeral, the central question of the play becomes why Matt committed suicide. We see his mother, his teacher and fellow students, who all say they can't understand why he could have done it.
Steve, a new student, is quickly confronted by Lucky, the class bully, and it seems he will become another victim of Lucky's intimidation. "If you don't give me your bike, you'll get a punch in the face", says Lucky.
Matt's mother believes the school is to blame. She knows that recently Matt was afraid of going to school, but couldn't find out why. We meet Matt's step-father, who told Matt he was stupid and occasionally beat him.
The other parents don't know their children well either. All are single-parent families, the adults under all sorts of pressures. As for the school principal, he wishes the whole thing would go away.
Only Lucky, Lana and Mandy have a vague notion about what led to their mate's suicide, but they can't find a way to talk about it.
Lucky, the central character, plays the tough and cool kid who always gets what he wants. He terrorises the others, using blackmail and intimidation. Mandy is attracted to his energy but eventually realises he goes too far. Only Steve has the guts to stand up to him, and the play shows this is ultimately the only way to respond to violence and intimidation.
The discovery of a series of drawings by Matt, stolen by Lucky, reveals vital clues to the reasons for Matt's suicide — a mixture of fear, confusion and self-hatred, in which the others are all implicated to some extent. They all allowed Lucky to intimidate Matt. And they didn't help Matt to talk about his problems.
This is a play that doesn't pull any punches. Beyond schoolyard bullying, it's about violent behaviour that oppresses others, and how it is necessary to have the courage to stand up for everyone's right to respect. Young audiences respond to the honesty of the portrayal of their own deepest fears and conflicts.
Jason Dean as Lucky is mean and menacing, with only the occasional hint of vulnerability. Karren Lewis, Veronica Whelan and Heath Ward are totally convincing as teenagers grappling with the fears and confusions of becoming responsible adults, with only poor examples around them. The whole cast give an ensemble performance that many a mainstream company would envy.
Director Nadine Helmi is keen to give the play maximum exposure. She has had a request to take it into a juvenile detention centre and welcomes such proposals. The company can be contacted on (02) 9365 1796.
A return season of A Punch in the Face will happen from 11 to 25 September at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre and is not to be missed.