One person plays are very much in vogue at the moment and Griffin Theatre Company’s The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin is the latest to take up this tradition, reviving the Steve J. Spears’ 1976 play in its 50th anniversary year. This time, it was the turn of Australian theatre legend Simon Burke to play the role of elocution teacher Robert O’Brien, who tries to balance his life as a professional elocution teacher, helping his students through the mechanics of speech, with his private life as a queer man. 

The tension in the play arrives when O’Brien begins to teach 12-year-old Benjamin Franklin, who is discovering his sexuality, which eventually leads to O’Brien falsely being labelled as a child abuser and being arrested. The trauma that this causes then leads to a descent into madness as he is confined to a mental institution.

The play is immediately confronting, with Burke appearing completely naked at the start of the show, much to the shock of the audience (although in the current theatre climate in Sydney this is much less of a surprise than it would have been in 1976). This is a very meaty role for Simon Burke and his acting was absolutely exceptional throughout the production, showing nuance, genuine care and theatrical depth as he tackled a number of characters and expertly conveyed the context as well. The role is an accessible one for the audience with the play not being shrouded in theatrical posterity and superfluousness despite the complexity of the role. This meant that the audience could really empathise with O’Brien and the struggle that he was going through. It also meant they identified with the tragic end of the play and the position that O’Brien was in.

One-act plays always feel quite lengthy, especially at the 90-minute mark but Burke’s incredible acting meant that the length was not overbearing, as the audience really was swept up in his performance. He expertly conveyed the descent from his love of life and all things flamboyant to the destruction of his character over the course of the play, even before everything came to a halt.

At times, the play did not quite resonate with the modern day, feeling very much like a relic of 1976 in its use of some outdated language and some scenes that became a bit repetitive in spite of the historical context but Burke’s delivery meant that this repetition was not felt as heavily. The one-person nature of the play also meant that by its definition the play did feel a bit one-paced at times, with it being unclear whether O’Brien’s partner was really real or a figment of his imagination, which was interesting on one hand, but a little more clarity may have driven the script and the pacing a little bit more.

In a small theatre, the production was also handled really well, with director Declan Greene doing a good job of adapting the emotion and power of the play to the intimate space where the audience really felt like they were in O’Brien’s teaching studio, which was a nice touch that made the play feel all the more personal. Isabel Hudson’s set and costume design also did a good job of highlighting the difference between O’Brien’s personal and professional lives, and conveying the sense of tension and claustrophobia that he felt as the walls around him closed in both physically and metaphorically. David Bergman’s sound and Brockman’s lighting were also incredibly important in keeping and elevating the theatrical tension.

Overall, this was a masterpiece in one-man acting, with Simon Burke doing an incredible job in what is a very challenging role. While the play has not quite stood up to the test of time in terms of its pacing and some of the approaches to the themes, it is still a chilling reminder of just how far we have come in the last 50 years and how much more work we still have to do in regards to LGBTQIA+ equality. A great start to the season for Griffin Theatre Company.

Rating: ★★★★

The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin plays at Belvoir St Theatre until 29 March 2026. For more information, click here. 

Photo credit: Brett Boardman