Whilst Mainstage Theatre may be having difficulties in the capital cities, regional theatre is thriving in the provinces, thanks largely to local companies and community theatre.

Ballarat National Theatre has a vigorous slate of productions - four this year alone - and this play was BNT’s decision to create a production featuring young actors. Many of the cast are still in their teens. The company is young, full of energy, commitment and talent. You Can’t Tell Anyone is a play commissioned by Canberra Youth Theatre in 2023 and so it fits the bill well, or should do.

The basic premise is that a group of friends leaving high school (17–18-year-olds) all gather after a party to philosophies on any number of things - from Gaddafi to the Holocaust (wouldn’t 17-year-olds be more likely to discuss Trump and Gaza?), whether one of them is a slut and another a rapist; who really wants to be boyfriend/girlfriend; who is going to Uni and why? Are there really ghosts or evil spirits? And to play a game called Paranoia - a rather lame game which seems like a Kmart version of Truth, Dare or Consequence. It’s billed as a philosophical thriller, though it ends up being neither.

It’s a case of throw everything at the wall and see what sticks, and the connection between Paranoia and paranormal is never fully explained or explored … so the result is unsatisfying on all levels.

On the positive side, Director Ruby Abbott, in her second outing after BNT’s God of Carnage (a modern classic) shows a real penchant for casting and emotionally connecting with her young cast. Clearly, they trust their director and that is half the battle. She draws performances from them which transcend the text in most cases. A director who can draw truthful emotions from a character (rather than an actor) is certainly one worth watching. Less successful is the blocking, partially the fault of a shallow stage, which sees most of the action taking place with the cast sitting in a line on a couch or chairs. The dialogue is often frenetic, as true conversation often is, especially among young people, but the staging could use more movement.

The raw talent has to be commended, but I must say a word about training. In these days, when the trend is for every high school to have a drama department, young would-be actors are often trained by teachers who have no professional experience whatsoever in the theatre. One of the most common problems among young actors is enunciation. All the cast were miked, and yet there were so many words that were swallowed and indecipherable. Enunciation isn’t about sounding posh or over emphasizing syllables or shouting, it’s about giving each syllable the weight it needs for clarity.

That said, special kudos to Gemma Every as Tilly. She was never less than credible, often touching, and has that rare ability of listening and reacting. A stellar performance. I could also understand every word she said. Young Atticus Benjsson has strong stage presence and makes a palpable connection with the audience through the scenes where he questions his own gay sexuality whilst drawn to Kat. And, as Kat, Karli Drew was impressive but could milk the bitchy side of the character more in some scenes. Matthew Surendra (Jeremy) clearly has an on-screen future, but needs to play slightly bigger for stage, even though Jeremy is too weak to tell his girlfriend Gwen the truth. His best work is done in the latter stages of the play. Rosalind Porter does well in her first speaking role as Nicole and I look forward to following her path as she gains more confidence as an actress. Meg GelJon has the difficult role of being the insecure control freak Gwen, who is perfect as long as everyone submits to her. She’s especially good in her big scene with Jeremy and I suspect (since she is the best developed character) that she may have a lot of the traits of the playwright herself. Alexander Morley (Luke) has to battle with some of the worst cliched lines of the play and does so with conviction.  Last, but by no means least, Clementine Sawyer as the “sluttish” Willa, gives an impressive multi-dimensional portrayal of the girl who is desperate for acceptance from anyone, anywhere.

The entire cast works on high voltage energy throughout, but it would have been nice to have seen a deterioration of both intellect and physicality from their drinking, both in the backstory of the party, and the present of the action.

I know that strong plays about youth are hard to find. But if one looks at the recent Trophy Boys, an absolute triumph in both story-telling and philosophy with deep subtext … one has to concede that young actors deserve material of real quality to hone their skills.

A much-repeated quote of mine to writers is “If you don’t have anything to say…say nothing.”  Cliches and stereotypes aside, it may well be that Ms Richards (described as an emerging playwright) has too much to say…and all of it is her own philosophy. I heard her voice clearly throughout. What I didn’t hear was the individual voices of the characters … THEIR belief, not hers. And that’s a great pity and a wasted opportunity. It’s doubly impressive then that I enjoyed the production so much. Ballarat National Theatre makes brave choices, and that’s exactly what all theatres should be doing to ensure a healthy future for drama in all its forms.

Director, Ruby Abbott, in her time with Ballarat National Theatre, has gone from strength to strength in her four years with the company. And she is committed to giving other young performers the same opportunities. Hence BNT’s latest production, a youth production with performers ranging in age from 15 to 24.

‘You Can’t Tell Anyone’ was created by local Canberran playwright Joanna Richards after she won the Canberra Youth Theatre’s Emerging Playwright Commission, an initiative aimed at giving emerging playwrights the opportunity to create a new work to bring young voices and stories to the stage making this a most suitable vehicle for Ms Abbott’s objectives.

It’s the end of school and Gwen is throwing a party. After an emotional year, her friends are keen to spend the night drinking, playing games, and arguing about literally everything. But when a party game spirals out of control, long-held tensions start to strain and snap. Are the friends messing with each other? Or is there a bigger threat pounding at the door? Lured ever deeper by the thrill of unfolding secrets, the lines between honesty and cruelty begin to blur. Confrontation gives way to chaos, breaking bonds of trust, and testing the rules we cling to in order to keep us safe.

Set in the living room of sisters, Tilly and Gwen’s house, the staging is minimalist, just the required pieces of furniture, with clever use of a door on stage right as the entrance to the house. Some of the moves of the cast are quite natural but at times it seemed that actors moved simply to stop the play being static. Perhaps a little more thought about motivation was needed to justify the move. There was a tendency for there to be “straight lines” across the stage which could have been avoided by slightly different placements. That said, Ms Abbott has guided her cast to give committed performances that portray the essence of their characters, and these were maintained throughout the 100-minute performance.

Gemma Every convincingly conveyed the quiet, shy nature of Tilly while Meg Geljon as Gwen was confident and sometimes taunting. Jeremy, Gwen’s boyfriend, is played by Matthew Surendra in a gently measured performance. Atticus Benjsson was a somewhat reticent Benny. The cynical Kat was assuredly played by Karli Drew. The not-so-innocent Willa was credibly played by Clementine Sawyer. Luke, the “life-of-the-party” boy was convincingly rendered by Alexander Morley. Completing the cast was Rosalind Porter who played the outcast Nicole well.

Although, and I know I have made this comment previously about BNT productions presented in the Ballaarat Mechanics Institute, the use of body mics does detract just a little from the shade and tone in dialogue, each of the cast delivered the pacy dialogue well and portrayed the emotions of their characters in an authentic way.

Matthew Heenan created some appealing effects with lighting and the uncredited sound added to the atmosphere especially later in the play.

I applaud all concerned in this production and the company for staging it. Youth are the future of all theatre companies, and it is vital to encourage and nurture them into all aspects of theatre production.