Fourteen — Shake & Stir Theatre Co

Overview

For the second year in a row, Brisbane Festival and huge stage premieres with local relevance go hand in hand. In 2021, it was Boy Swallows Universe that had the city talking — and in 2022, that honour now goes to Fourteen. Once again, if you're a bookworm, you'll be excited.

This time, Shannon Molloy's memoir heads to QPAC, bringing journalist's time as a queer teenager at an all-boys Catholic school in regional Queensland to the theatre. From Saturday, August 27–Saturday, September 17 — kicking off before Bris Fest officially starts — the production is taking over the Cremorne Theatre, exploring growing up gay in the centre of the Sunshine State in the process.

Even if you haven't lived the same experience, you can likely imagine it. The year is 1999. Rugby is an obsession. And coming out would change Shannon's high-school years forever.

Given the time it's set, Fourteen features everything from Shania Twain and the Spice Girls to S Club 7 on its soundtrack. A 90s-era coming-of-age tale wouldn't be complete without them.

Molloy's memoir comes to the stage courtesy of Shake & Stir Theatre Co, continuing an impressive run of page-to-stage adaptations alongside past versions of Wuthering Heights, Dracula and Jane Eyre.

Hosting its world-premiere season in Brisbane, Fourteen stars Brisbane-raised actor Conor Leach as the onstage version of Shannon — and if you saw him on the big screen in Sequin in a Blue Room, that's exciting news, too.