Shook

The venue is supposed to be at 136 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, but I’ve run out of numbers. ‘Excuse me,’ I say to the girl guarding what looks like an underground toilet, ‘I’m looking for Shook’. ‘Yes, you’ve found us’, she says, ‘but we’re not quite ready yet.’ Returning in a bit, I squeeze under the entrance, descend the steep stairs and find myself in a tiny theatre. 

Shook begins. The stairs link up with three young men, two of whom seem to be in a state of constant upheaval. Louis Regan is Cain, with enough energy to light up the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He’s got ADHD and moves between bravado and an affecting vulnerability.

Malek Domkoc is Riyad, a one-time gang member, who is gradually coming to maturity. And Isaac Harley as Jonjo is a repressed newcomer, at first saying nothing. Edyll Ismail is the female social worker who must prepare these lads for the future.

The conflict between young Cain and everyone else is ongoing. He’s fast-talking and always on the go, stopped only by sweets from the tuck shop.

The writing is spare and fluent and Emma Whitehead’s production, contained in a single secure room, is a compelling mixture of stage and TV play. 

With the action between the two boys as rough and tumble as you can possibly imagine. Riyad Cain, who has a flair for maths, enters the equation. He slowly draws out the backstories of boys who all lack a proper template of family affection. 

But what will happen to the girl? Winner of the 2019 Papatango New Writing Prize. Funny, down to earth and with a lot to say.

Frank Hatherley