11/05/2025
I had the pleasure of seeing Tough Guy by Hayley Moorhouse directed by Bt Dahl, supported by the incredible ensemble of Persistant Myth and produced by FTA in the Backstage Theatre -
Boldly directed, beautifully written, dangerously and deftly acted…the soundtrack and songs were bangers all, and played at the perfect goosebump inducing volume (thank you!). This Indy punches way above it’s weight, ducking and weaving it’s dark subject matter into it’stunning production design, the video, and light alone is a knock-out, 10/10 echoing this shining light of a production…it’s very funny (I laughed a lot), complex, (humans are complicated creatures), haunting (with an opening sequence of light and sound that utterly transports with it’s subtle and chilling theatre magic) beautiful in sound and form (those lights!!) yet for all it’s precision, Tough Guy’s layered production keep’s it’s messy human relationships in stark focus, and this cast is there for it, giving us committed riveting performances I could’nt look away from, (Oh!) the humanity and hearts of these fine actors are the brightest lights on the Backstage Theatre stage, reminding us that even in the darkest of times, there’s still light shimmering somehow, somewhere. If you’r e still reading this, put your phone down and book your tickets.
Tough Guy follows a group of friends as they navigate the aftermath of a shooting at Aria, a q***r nightclub. They’re all nursing wounds, visible and invisible, and are thrown into further turmoil when their friend Emerson, a rising star in the independent film scene, comes back home to film a doc...
