Timothy Conigrave’s memoir ‘Holding the Man’ holds a seminal place in Australian literature and queer literature history. Detailing Conigrave’s story as he confronted life as a queer man in Australia alongside his partner John Caleo before their diagnoses and eventual deaths from AIDS related illnesses. It is a powerful story that has since been turned into a play, which premiered at the Griffin Theatre Company nearly 20 years ago and subsequently into a film as well. 

The quality of the acting in Belvoir St Theatre productions is always striking and this play was no exception. Tim Conroy and Danny Ball were stunning in the roles of Conigrave and Caleo respectively, embodying every essence of the characters and capturing their emotions at every turn. Given the play traversed such a large time period, they did a superb job of showing the growth of the characters from high school students to adults and the maturity that they developed. The portrayals were nuanced and sensitive, moving from humour to profound sadness often effortlessly and facilitating meaningful connection with the audience. 

The production team, led by Director Eamon Flack and designer Stephen Curtis, did an exceptional job of using the space of the theatre and developing a creative set design. Harness work was littered throughout the production and this was incredibly well done, often being used in a way that was highly symbolic and poignant. 

The supporting cast of Russell Dykstra, Rebecca Massey, Guy Simon and Shannen Alyce Quan were also fantastic, playing a number of roles to support the lead characters. Ultimately, this was a story of two but conveying the support (or lack of it) that these two characters received along the way was an important part of their history and was done incredibly well. 

While the acting was superb and the story deeply moving, there were some issues with the play which meant that its efficacy was lost. It felt as though the play removed some of the heart that the original memoir had, instead opting for a ‘John Green’ style of storytelling that does not lend itself as easily to the stage, where more subtlety can be valuable. In this regard, the pacing of the show felt a little off as the show dragged in the middle before not devoting enough time to the climax at the end, where it felt like the play concluded rather abruptly. 

It also felt as though some of the humour was a little too forceful. The repeated jokes about NIDA and theatre schools were admittedly amusing but may not have had wide ranging impact beyond the relatively niche circle of those familiar with the processes of these institutions. Some of the other humorous scenes (including a quite graphic sleepover scene) felt drawn out to the point where the humour was lost. 

This is a production that means a great deal to many and has the benefit of some of the most hauntingly beautiful and powerful source material to work with from the outset. However, overall, this feels like a play where the pacing does not quite work and the style of storytelling is a little off. The production is saved by some savvy directing and the quality of the acting but perhaps needs a little more refinement of the script if it is to run for future iterations. 

Rating: ★★★1/2

Holding the Man plays at the Belvoir St Theatre until 14^th April, 2024. For more information, click here. 

Photo credit: Brett Boardman