Review: LOG BOY at Main Theatre AC Arts
Review by Lisa Lanzi
As the second of two works in State Theatre Company South Australia’s 2026 SPARK Independent season, Log Boy explores loss, grief, lifestyle choices, loneliness, confrontation, and friendship in a deeply connected and engaging play that never judges or proselytises. The work casts a lens over generational trauma stemming from the early days of HIV/AIDS, when so little was known about the virus and its ramifications, through to the present day and the experience of living alongside the illness, including the availability of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). For those who remember those years only too well, fear and the loss of loved ones left many emotionally paralysed and in deep shock, with some also carrying the burden of survivor guilt.
In development since 2021, written and produced by emerging Adelaide writer Anthony Nocera and shrewdly directed by Riley Spadaro, Log Boy tells of Justin (Paul Capsis) and Jamie (Paul Reichstein) arriving to spend the night with Anthony (Anthony Nicola) on the eve of Jamie’s funeral, Anthony’s beloved fiancé. Anthony has been living on edge in their country house since Jamie’s death and experiencing vivid nightmares which play out on stage as physical dreamscapes featuring a sinister ‘leather daddy’ played exquisitely by Chris Asimos, complete with leather chaps and all the accoutrements.
Anthony Nicola embodies the grieving lead with compassion and sensitivity. Their somewhat awkward physicality contrasts well with Capsis’ more flamboyant demeanour and Reichstein’s grounded, relaxed swagger. As a man facing the impending funeral of his lover and having to deal with two overbearing frenemies who knew Jamie ‘for ever’, Nicola gives a compelling ‘lost boy’ flavour to the part, with an undercurrent of gen Z awareness and fairness.
Wearing a blonde wig that conceals his trademark luxurious dark locks, Paul Capsis gives us a loud-and-proud Justin, combining glamour, guts, and impeccable comic timing. giving us a forthright queer character where no subject is off-limits, especially if it throws light on their own fabulousness. Yet when the evening takes a vicious turn and revelations give the grieving Anthony the courage to stand up for their own wellbeing, another side of Justin emerges. Capsis allows the character’s inner softness and insightfulness to surface, adding welcome depth to an already compelling performance.
With luminous spell and a deliciously rich, resonant vocal delivery, Paul Reichstein’s Jamie is a smooth, stylish, slightly bitchy presence holding on to a disturbing secret. This character is at first the more grounded of the trio yet slowly unravels as the night lengthens and truths tumble out. Reichstein navigates the character’s emotional complexity with assurance and restraint that allows comedy and tragedy to sit close yet make perfect sense. I am astounded this actor is not more widely employed on our mainstages in this country.
The production’s design elements are equally impressive. Meg Wilson’s fabulous set and costume design, Chris Petridis’s lighting design, Jason Sweeney’s throbbing club night compositions, plus Lachlan Turner’s production management and sound design combine to create a theatrical world that effortlessly conveys a sense of place. Log Boy is a hell of a premiere for Nocera: heart-rending, hilarious, a little scary, and a lot fierce.
The action is beautifully paced, while time and place are cleverly presented in a non-linear, often abstract fashion. Anthony and his woke mum, played by the uber-talented Elena Carapetis (also the project’s dramaturg since its inception) engage in a series of telephone conversations while sitting or standing near or beside one another, clearly occupying their own homes yet intimately connected. The two also chat about different stages of Anthony’s and Jamie’s relationship so that dream state, memory, and present day coalesce seamlessly deepening the audience’s situational understanding.
The weekly ‘sister dates’ that Nocera speaks of that his fiancé and their long-standing friend Justin revelled in clearly provided rich, entertaining inspiration for the playwright; it has resulted in sparkling repartee and a well-crafted narrative that defines Log Boy. There is an ease and authenticity to the dialogue that makes the relationships feel lived-in, while the humour provides welcome relief without diminishing more painful themes.
With a stellar cast, brilliant script, and excellent creative team, Log Boy is an outstanding work. It showcases Anthony Nocera as a new and powerful queer voice in contemporary Australian playwriting.
