Emerging playwright Madeleine Border’s play Big Yikes! made its world premiere at the Brisbane Powerhouse, presented by Playlab Theatre and directed by Playlab Artistic Director Ian Lawson. A play about coming of age and finding your feet in adulthood, Big Yikes! included some excellent comedy and commentary about the expectations and pressure placed on young people to define their future path as soon as they leave high school.
Big Yikes! follows recent school-leaver and true-crime enthusiast Lorrie, who is worrying about her future while she waits for university offers to be released. In the meantime, she’s moved out, changed her name to Loxie, and got her first job working at a cafe. It seems like she has it all together – a room in a sharehouse, a job, her best friend Darcy – but adult perks come with adult worries. She has to impress her boss, pay her rent, manage the well-intentioned questioning from her parents, and deal with difficult customers at work. And then there’s the crush she’s developed on her socially conscious co-worker Charlie…
Big Yikes! captures the uncertainty and sudden freedom of leaving high school, a time when the possibilities of the “real world” seem both exciting and overwhelming. Encouraged by her co-workers and her best friend Darcy, Loxie gains confidence in herself and her ideas and starts to dream of a future beyond the expectations of her peers and her parents.
Big Yikes! recalled the big feelings of such a major time of transition, and I found the ending heartening as the audience joined Loxie on a journey towards trusting in her own hopes and desires. The play also addressed the shifting of priorities and social dynamics after school, through Loxie’s relationship with Darcy as well as her interaction with some former classmates as customers at the café.
Lorrie/Loxie was relatable, and likeably naïve and anxious, played by Juliette Milne. Billy Fogarty, Tenielle Plunket, and Christopher Paton played a range of supporting roles, from Loxie’s tightly-wound manager Steph (Plunket) and self-assured co-worker Charlie (Fogarty) to her friend Darcy (Paton) and a range of cafe patrons. This supporting trio managed a number of lightning-fast costume changes and switched seamlessly between characters, excepting one minor costume malfunction. Big Yikes! also included plenty of physical comedy, largely executed by the three supporting cast members.
Sliding set pieces and the drawing back of curtains were used to switch settings, from the cafe and Loxie’s sharehouse to a train station bench. A strong colour scheme tied the sets and costumes together, and lighting design by Geoff Squires directed audience attention to different areas of the stage, further smoothing scene transitions.
Projected words and phrases along the top of the set acted like chapter titles as the play progressed, and while several were funny one-liners their relationship to the action was minimal and they ultimately became a distraction rather than deepening the audience’s connection to the play. Sound design by Brady Watkins included the voiceover of Loxie’s favourite true crime podcast, although there was less narrative payoff for this aspect of the show than I expected.
Big Yikes! was a sweet and comedic coming-of-age story that recalled the uncertainty and excitement of leaving school and home for the first time, looking to the future on your own terms, and finding your feet in adulthood beyond the expectations of others.
Big Yikes! was performed at Brisbane Powerhouse from 13 – 23 March 2024
For ticketing and further information, visit the Playlab website
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