Tough Guy

Review from Nov 8:

So much to chew on here. I wish I’d been able to see it more than once, but my plane literally arrived a few hours before this final show so I’m just grateful that I got to see it at all. I didn't see the reading of this play a few years ago, so I’m only going off of what was shown tonight.

I really enjoyed what I saw as a lot of post-modern elements used to great effect. The almost mise-en-abyme structure where images and memories and ghosts are replicated and reiterated so many times in dream-like and destabilizing ways was very compelling and actually one of my favourite styles of narrative across mediums so this really worked for me.

I appreciate that you could really tell that the playwright was questioning the ethics of audience and the point at which empathy/sympathy can tip towards voyeurism/exploitation when making art. A lot of this came through in dialogue, and the entire concept of filmmaking and actors' performances being projected onto the wall behind them simultaneously (which was very smart), but also strikingly in two scenes: one where two characters have their first honest conversation only when the lights go out, and another where the characters retread a traumatic location offstage in the final scene. We are inside of these moments in that we have witnessed the complexity of these characters leading up to these moments, but we're also outside of them in what would be a climactic close-up shot were this a typical oscar bait-y film. I enjoy when art doesn't show us everything on purpose.

I also think that a lot of art feels the need to justify itself whether that's because of grant/funding models, the hollywoodification of art, a lack of faith in the audience, etc.). Sometimes we get stories that take a really clear stance on a complex issue, and work their way backwards from that, which can then feel inevitable and thus uninteresting. I think tough guy rode that line of courting complexity around so many questions (queerness in public life/perception, violence against queer communities, queer joy, ownership of trauma stories, voyeurism/witnessing, the ethics of activism or the "right" way to move through politically fraught events, etc.) without feeling like a smarmy know-it-all playing devil's advocate.

If I were to critique anything, there were some moments where I felt dialogue became a bit didactic, like the playwright was speaking to the audience through a character to really drive the point home. As an audience member, I don't really like this way of emphasizing a thesis, but then, I’m not a playwright, so I don't really know if there is/was a better way for this play in particular that felt like a puzzle box of various thoughts and questions still coming together cohesively at the end (a feat in itself!).

The writing was really the star of the show for me here, though I am biased since I know the playwright. However, aside from that, they really found a wonderful cast of actors who brought a distinct feel and to each character, which can be tricky in an ensemble. The lighting and sound was phenomenal, as many have already said. Less was more with the set; lots of negative space for ghosts to haunt. I look forward to seeing the awards recognition this play will receive in the future.

With a vulnerable, nuanced script, accompanied by visceral lighting and sound design, Tough Guy is brought to life by a brilliant cast that straddles the line between love and grief so present in the queer community. From losing a loved one in a senseless hate crime, to forgoing a family that cannot accept you, this tender play shows us that each tragedy is a worthy battle to find joy and community in a world that too often chooses hate and isolation.

One of the central tensions in theatre, particularly theatre that grapples with difficult subject matter, is finding the right balance between realism and effective storytelling. Tough Guy, a new play by Hayley Moorhouse following a queer friend group coping with the aftermath of a nightclub shooting, is a sincere examination of queer grief, joy, and resilience, but sometimes struggles to land with full force.

At its core, Tough Guy explores how people grieve both as individuals and as a community, and the way these processes are sometimes in conflict. When filmmaker Emerson returns to her hometown after a year away wanting to make a film about a tragic event she wasn’t present for, it throws her friend group into disarray as they debate a host of necessary questions: What does it mean to make art about queer pain? Who has the right to tell those stories? Where is the line between art and exploitation? Autumn Strom is a delight in the role, striking the perfect note of earnest self-involvement with slightly cringy monologues that were painfully reminiscent of my own early 20s as a queer person.

One of Tough Guy’s strengths is that while the precipitating event is obviously the central trauma impacting the characters, each also deals with their own struggles in a way that makes the characters feel true to life. Queer people often juggle multiple sources of heartbreak: parental rejection, political prejudice, not to mention the thousand small disappointments every young person experiences, from friends growing apart to career uncertainties. While this is realistic, there is at times so much going on with the characters on top of the central trauma that the story risks losing focus.

Tough Guy also sometimes makes the opposite mistake, choosing practicality over realism in distracting ways. Quinn, an amateur boxer attempts to work through their grief via their sport. However, actor Jasmine Hopfe never strikes the on-set punching bag with more than a token amount of force. While it’s understandable to take safety precautions, there’s something profoundly jarring about watching a character metaphorically fight through trauma while the actor literally pulls their punches.

Despite these challenges, Tough Guy succeeds where it matters most. As Sutton, Marguerite Lawler provides some much-needed levity, simultaneously demonstrating how humour helps us cope with unimaginable pain while also occasionally causing friction with those who grieve differently. While the script could benefit from revisions and some staging choices could use refinement, Tough Guy deserves to be seen. It’s important, powerful theatre that finds the intersection of queer grief, joy and resilience.