Sydney Theatre Company presents a State Theatre Company South Australia production

Girls & Boys

By Dennis Kelly
Directed by Mitchell Butel

1 hr 50 mins, no interval

This play premiered on 15 Feb 2018 at the Royal Court Theatre, London.

This production premiered on 1 Mar 2022 at the Odeon Theatre, Adelaide.

This season opened on 19 Sep 2026 at Wharf 1 Theatre, Sydney.

There is a growing number of playwrights who don’t like to provide a writer’s note to a production of their show. Dennis Kelly, the writer of the extraordinary play you’re about to see, is one such writer. There are other playwrights who specifically request that when a theatre company licenses their play, that there be no “question and answer” sessions after their play, given that they don’t want the meaning of the play to be summarised or discussed by cast, crew and audience after its viewing. Dennis doesn’t go that far – this season will have a few of those sessions and I am actually looking forward to some of the conversations it engenders - but it is interesting that he’s very keen for the play to speak for itself. 

Girls & Boys is a play that asks many questions but puts the onus very squarely back on the audience to ruminate about its own answers. It is also a play that may work best when the audience has no prior knowledge of where it is heading. 

The character who speaks to us in this play journeys from one set of beliefs and ideas about her world and the people in her world to a place where those beliefs and ideas are challenged, tested and tried. And to an unexpected and extreme measure. 

So, in that spirit, writing a director’s note for this production risks revealing too much too soon too. 

What I can say is that it has been a profound privilege, challenge, honour and education to work on this text over several seasons and explore it and its themes alongside a talented, smart, compassionate, humble and generous team of collaborators and contributors. And to explore and acknowledge stories and experiences from similar women to the one we find in this play. 

Every single member of this creative team and crew has approached their work on the show with incredible sensitivity and respect. The play encourages deep self and social reflection and we have all tried to emulate that in our work on it. 

I give my love and thanks to everyone who has worked on the show, including the staff of State Theatre Company South Australia who treated the original production and its creation with similar care. Ditto to the staff of Sydney Theatre Company who have helped breathe new life into this production for this season. In particular, I give my love, thanks and admiration to Justine Clarke; one of the bravest, kindest, most skilled and caring artists I’ve ever encountered. I cannot wait for you to see her in action. And to work with her again and again. 

My thanks and deep respect to other writers and contributors who helped shape our research – particularly Jess Hill for her book and SBS series See What You Made Me Do and podcast The Trap, Leigh Sales for her book Any Ordinary Day and Professor Sarah Wendt, Matthew Flinders Fellow and Professor in Social Work - Flinders University, for her expert advice to and support of our team. Our thanks also to the many services and workers that support people who find themselves in situations similar to the ones in this play. More information regarding those services can be found elsewhere in this programme. 

And lastly, my thanks to you – our audience – for taking the ride with us on plays like this. We hope that Girls & Boys is a theatrical experience that will resonate with you. This particular show is a very direct conversation between one actress and her audience. Thank you for completing that circle.

A woman reflects on the story of how she met the man who would become her husband. Their relationship begins with an argument in an airport departure lounge, a chance encounter that quickly turns into flirtation, attraction and the promise of a shared future. From these unlikely beginnings, they build a life together, navigating the excitement of new love, ambitious careers and the everyday chaos of raising a family.

With humour, honesty and razor-sharp observation, she recounts the milestones that shape their years together. Awkward first meetings, workplace rivalries, domestic compromises and the absurdities of parenthood are brought vividly to life through her engaging and often hilarious storytelling. Her voice is warm, direct and deeply relatable, finding comedy in the small details of modern life while uncovering the hopes, fears and insecurities that lie beneath them.

As the years pass, subtle changes begin to emerge. Career fortunes shift, personal ambitions evolve and tensions that once seemed insignificant start to cast longer shadows. Questions of identity, success and power quietly surface within the relationship, revealing the ways external pressures can shape even the most intimate connections.

As the gap between appearance and reality narrows, the story moves towards a profoundly affecting reckoning.

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Sydney Theatre Company Board of Directors

Ann Johnson (Chair)
David Craig (Deputy Chair)
Anita Belgiorno-Nettis AM
Brooke Boney
Mitchell Butel
Sarah Constable
Mark Coulter
Anne Dunn
Sam Meers AO
Heather Mitchell AM
Kate Mulvany OAM
David Paradice AO
Annette Shun Wah
Rosie Williams

See Sydney Theatre Company’s full staff list.