Hubris & Humiliation

HUBRIS & HUMILIATION caused PETE’S EYEBROWS to form a CATERPILLAR ARCH

The Dramatic Premise

Elliott is a young man yearning for love. More specifically, he’s yearning for the love of his best mate, William. But William is marrying a sugar daddy. Will Elliott find love elsewhere?

Meanwhile, Elliott’s mum, Bernice, has been fleeced by an online scammer. She’s taken out loans in the name of Elliott and his sister, Paige, but it’s only a short-term solution. The family will be destitute without an urgent influx of cash. But Bernice has a plan. Send Elliott to Sydney to live with her estranged brother, Uncle Roland, and find a sugar daddy of his own. Will Bernice’s plan work? Even in the face of Elliott’s reluctance to be pimped out?

Elliott’s sister, Paige, has a man of her own, Brendan. But the burgeoning romance falters. Will Paige find love from an unexpected source? And what about poor, good-hearted Brendan?

Hubris & Humiliation is touted as Jane Austen meets Sydney’s gay scene.

Lewis Treston’s play fulfils that ambition with the joy of a glittering rainbow. It’s a laugh-out-loud story about love and romance – and courting and rejecting – and a shared desire for a home with kittens and one of those fridges which makes ice.

The Performances

In a strong ensemble cast, Roman Delo, as Elliott, was the standout. With his boyish good looks and his sensitive vulnerability, Delo’s onstage charisma was palpable.

Special mention must also be made of veteran of Australian TV, Andrew MacFarlane, as Uncle Roland. Playing the aging homosexual uncle could easily have descended into cliché. But MacFarlane stole every scene he was in with his finely-tuned comic timing.

The Moment

Elliot has scored tickets to a fabulous party thrown by a well-known Australian movie producer. But he must look the part! So Uncle Roland and another cast member help Elliot into his costume, as an upbeat cover of Madonna’s Material Girl thumps in the background, with hilarious consequences.

Concluding Remarks

I enjoyed Hubris & Humiliation very much. It was refreshing to see a story about a likeable, young gay man which wasn’t a coming out story. We were well past that by the time we joined the tale. Every character accepted Elliott, long ago, for who he was. 

And it was good to see that queer love can be just as funny – perhaps even funnier – than straight love, when it goes wrong. And just as heartwarming when it goes right.

For more information:

Hubris & Humiliation – Sydney Theatre Company

(Originally posted on 12 February 2023.)