Sydney World Pride season has begun: across the city, theatre and performance companies are producing works by, for and about the global queer community – often with a local twist. If we’re lucky, Hubris & Humiliation, a new play by Lewis Treston making its debut at Sydney Theatre Company, has just set the tone for the weeks ahead: an explosion of creativity and a celebration of queer joy.
Treston’s play, which won the 2021 new play award at the Australian theatre festival in New York, is a camp homage to Jane Austen’s social comedies. Brisbane boy Elliott (Roman Delo) has been pining after his best friend Warren (Ryan Panizza) for over half his life. However, all that mooning must be set aside when it is revealed that Elliott’s mother (Celia Ireland) has been catfished so thoroughly that the family is about to lose their home. Her scheme to recoup the losses? Send Elliott to Sydney, where he can live with his estranged but rich Uncle Roland (Andrew McFarlane) until he finds a wealthy man to marry.
