Bucks is a raw and emotional show. It portrays the multiple faces of Australian masculinity through it’s many characters, on stage and off, and discusses many of the issues of Australian rural life.
The show follows Kyle, a young man returning to his home town for his wedding after living in Melbourne for multiple years. Upon his return his high school best mate, Dane, has kidnapped him and taken him for “the best night of his life”. Dane has organised Kyle’s brother and two uni mates to come along to a country hotel room for a night of drunken larrikanism. As the night progresses tensions arise and we see a searing conversation of class and masculinity. The five actors play these roles well, each revealing more quirks and anger as the night goes on and tensions mount.
This show is intense, unfiltered and accessible. There is a visceral sense of reality to the characters, the pompous and stressed young professionals who came up from the city juxtaposed against the harsh and commanding soldier Dane. Scott, Kyle’s Brother, plays a modest but drug addled young man frustrated with his brother’s lack of love and understanding. These characters clash as the story unfolds and we learn of the quintet’s disturbing and furtive history.
The audience is left reeling as the tension and stress mounts, characters’ emotions and motives are revealed and the plot thickens. This play is disturbingly masculine. It’s uncannily accurate, anyone who has attended such an event remembers the situations, the tensions and the unavoidable clashes as multiple men strive to be in charge.
This play is blokey and sarcastic, the message is clear and relevant. Bucks is an important and necessary production, one which delves into Australian masculinity and asks questions of a secret and somewhat disturbing practice, the bucks night. A fantastic small scale production with an excellent cast and a crucial message.
Rating: 4K
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