Review: Young Bodies / Somebody’s (Yeah Nah Theatre)

After two successful staged readings earlier in the year, Yeah Nah Theatre presents their debut mainstage production at Backdock Arts, directed by Mik Hosking and produced by Campbell Lindsay.

Written by Sydney playwright Miranda Michalowski, Young Bodies/Somebody’s premiered at Flight Path Theatre in 2022 and is a coming of age play about sisterhood, secrets, and how shame is passed down through generations. Michalowski’s script overlaps character monologues, with subsequent lines affirming or contradicting from different perspectives or spaces in the house, and clearly drawing parallels between the young women and their mother. The play explores the tensions and expectations, both internal and external, of growing up as a young woman and the blurry, shifting line that can be drawn between empowerment and self-destruction.

The play follows sisters June and Anna, adults preparing to move out together now that their mother is moving in with her boyfriend. June is a dedicated competitive swimmer, but her pursuit of perfection is slowly consuming her energy and starting to look like an eating disorder. Anna is out late and often, drinking heavily and in pursuit of people who desire her, but at what cost?

The opening of the play set the tone, as the three women stared into the audience as if it were a mirror, tugging at their faces and bodies in an attempt to manipulate them – bigger or smaller, smoother or younger. Mirrors lined the walls for the set as well, a constant reminder of reflections and being observed.

Meg Bowden, Roxanne Ruby, and Janelle Bailey played the roles of Anna, June, and their mother Dawn. All three women gave strong emotional performances, and the scenes between the sisters were especially poignant.

A multi-level set depicts the house June, Anna, and Dawn are preparing to leave, with the sisters’ bedrooms downstage, a bathroom vanity in between, and the kitchen table above and behind. Lighting design differentiated the rooms in the house, particularly in scenes where June and Anna were both in their bedrooms. Music also eased transitions between scenes as the actors changed costumes and/or shifted set pieces.