According to Otto

Tunks Productions' According to Otto is a fun fresh vibrant piece of new writing, a perfect fit to open Mardi Gras 2018 in Sydney.

The play is the story of Otto (Jasper Musgrave) and his friends and family, coming to terms with his sexuality, ‘coming out’ on his 16th birthday. There are no sad moments, just a vibrant, exciting, endearing tale with funny moments from the entire cast. Otto’s family try to be supportive at all the wrong moments of his journey to find himself, with hilarious timing, making some of those moments awkward for the teen.

Otto’s parents (Wayne Tunks and Jacinta Moses), sister Ava (Tasha O’Brien) and his grandmother (Felicity Burke) all combined together as one big happy family of big personalities bursting onto the stage. It was wonderful to watch, with Otto’s grandmother nearly stealing the show with her off beat ‘homosexual’ comments.

But the show belonged to Otto (Musgrave); there was no doubt the stage belonged to him, as star of the show. Musgrave’s performance showed a strong sense of maturity and confidence, with such a commitment in a young actor. There was a clever use of his monologues addressing the audience, in between snapping out of the scenes played on stage.

Otto has a secret crush on his best friend Max (Brendan Paul), who is bullied at school by another student (Cooper Mortlock). With credible supporting performances by Alice Furze and Andrew Wang playing various roles.

Such a faultless memorable cast, fast paced, humorous, an uplifting night. A thoroughly enjoyable performance. Great cast, great script, fabulous direction, a fab night!

Charlotte Hanson