‘BECOME THE ONE’ Comes To Riverside May 19

Winner of the 2018 Playtime Award for New Writing, Become The One, from playwright Adam Fawcett, repositions the typical “closeted sportsman” narrative by asking audiences: What if it was the partner, not the athlete, that became the driving force behind dismantling the heteronormativity of Australia’s national sport? What might they – and that journey – look like?

Through the outstanding performances from Chris Asimos (State Theatre Company of South Australia’s A View from the Bridge, ABC’s Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) and Mason Gasowski (The Australian Shakespeare Company’s Wind in the Willows) Become The One, explores the true meaning of bravery and what it might take to do the right thing – as a lover, as a high-profile sportsman, as a human being – to become the one.

Fawcett believes it’s “a worthwhile exercise for us to reflect on why our elite male athletes do not feel comfortable enough to live openly, and perhaps how things like toxic masculinity feed into this, and how all that feeds right down to the grassroots of sport and community. We also hardly see romantic queer dramedies on main stages – this really is a celebration of difference that I hope audiences will embrace.”

Fawcett continued, “I’d love audiences to just think about the issues expressed in the play and how maybe we are all – in some capacity – contributing to the problem by trying to police things like sexuality and gender, which we are even seeing play out in the current election to the detriment of our trans kids.”

Wanted to Write Something That Would Have Made His 15-Year-Old Self Feel Seen

Growing up queer in the 90s in Gippsland, Victoria, Fawcett wanted to write something that would have made his fifteen-year-old self feel seen and heard.

He explained, “I left school during year ten due to bullying, and there wasn’t much for kids like me to engage with unless you wanted to play footy or cricket!. I’ve also had feedback from teenagers during the course of this tour that has also been their experience.” 

Through Fawcett’s clever writing and stage direction of four-time Green Room Award nominee Lyall Brooks, Become The One, acts as an invitation for audiences to return to live performances and be entertained together.  

“Spaces like Riverside Parramatta are so vital to creating safe community spaces for people to come and experience live art, and it’s such a special thing to be sitting in an audience and experiencing a story together. It’s been tough for artists over the past couple of years because we haven’t been able to enjoy that connection with community, so come along and enjoy a great night out – I promise you won’t be disappointed,” he said.

VENUE – Riverside Parramatta – Lennox Theatre
DATES- 19 May – 21 May 2022