FINDING A VOICE

Written by the Academy Award winning writer of ‘Moonlight’, Tarell Alvin-McCraney, ‘Choir Boy’ is a moving story about a young gay man finding his voice. This month, it’s coming to Riverside Theatres for its Australian premiere. The project has been taken on by directors Dino Dimitriadis and Zindzi Okenyo, for whom, according to Dino, working together was a no-brainer.

“The project is one that I’ve been talking with National Theatre of Parramatta for a while about, and when it came down to bringing the team together, it was a no-brainer to get Zindzi involved as well,” they said.

“Zindzi and I both have a very similar way of working and a care-centred culture, and also the kind of content that we’re keen to put on stage. We both felt that given our complementing lived experience, but also some of the things that we do share in common, that it would be a really exciting thing to take that on.”

For Dimitriadis, whose work in the past has frequently focused on creating space for underrepresented voices on stage, the story of ‘Choir Boy’, which follows Pharus Young on his journey to become the best choir leader in the 50-year history of Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, seemed like a great fit. But, they found themselves particularly inspired by the work’s form.

“This idea that you can have this beautiful play, but then transcend into these moments of acapella gospel singing to add this meditative layer to the piece is just so, so beautiful,” they said.

Having premiered in 2012 at London’s Royal Court Theatre, before going on to play productions at New York City Center, Alliance Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, and on Broadway, it’s clear that the Tony Award winning play has something special.

For Dimitriadis, it’s the shared experiences it brings to life.

“‘Choir Boy’ is a celebration of life, and it’s a celebration of finding yourself in the world,” they said.

“I think that’s an experience that’s shared by everybody, especially in these quite turbulent times, making sense of the world, and that’s what I love most about it. Ultimately, it’s just a beautiful cele bration of taking up space and claiming your space.”

Now that it’s being brought in Australia for the very first time by the National Theatre of Parramatta, Dimitriadis is most excited to be able to bring a new vision to the work.

“It’s such a wonderful thing to be able to premiere it here,” they said.

“Whilst it’s a very specific story, it is very universal, and so we’re really excited to put it in the Australian context.”

Before touring seasons in Brisbane, Canberra and Wollongong, ‘Choir Boy’ will be premiering at Riverside specifically in association with Sydney WorldPride 2023.

“It’s a show about pride in so many ways, and then also, it’s a global conver sation – we have some team members from the States, then obviously the play wright as well and our musical director is coming from America as well – so it’s the perfect fit to kick it off in WorldPride,” Dimitriadis said.

The show brings “everything you want from a great night out”.

“It’s really dynamic and the characters are very well fleshed out, and so it’s a really rich work that allows people to really think about things and step out of their world and into this one,” Dimitriadis said.

‘Choir Boy’ will be on at Riverside Theatres from Tuesday, February 14. Tickets start at $49.

To book, visit riversideparramatta.com.au.