The fact that a rosy future is no longer a young person’s birthright simmers in the background of this coming-of-age play.
When nervous school-leaver Loxie starts a job as a barista, her gender-diverse colleague Charlie tells her that working at the cafe is part of their plan to save up for a houseboat.The fact that a rosy future is no longer a young person’s birthright simmers in the background of this likeable coming-of-age comedy from Brisbane playwright Madeleine Border.It’s essentially a character study of a neurotic 18-year-old caught in the limbo between the end of school and the arrival of university offers.
Milne’s three castmates slip between myriad characters. Christopher Paton amuses as Loxie’s shallow best friend, Darcy, whose idea of fun is to judge people on their fashion choices.As played by Tenielle Plunkett, cafe manager Steph is a hard-arse whose iron grip on the key to the staff toilets encapsulates her attitude to life.
Where the play loses steam is in a series of event nights the cafe stages in a bid to get on TikTok. These time-fillers reach for broad comedy but end up as cringe – the not-so good kind.But with judicious cutting this would be the perfect show to tour to high schools, because it has the guts to level with kids about what it feels like to have nothing shielding you from adulthood. And it does it without being crass or negative.