Sydney Reviews

A play that begins with “The world is your oyster” and ends with “It’s just a roast”, Jacky is a theatrical feast.

Written by Declan Furber Gillick, directed by Mark Wilson, the show opens with a febrile kinetic energy as Jacky’s brother, Keith arrives in the big city to pursue an apprenticeship with a bakery. Keith is excited and excitable in contrast to Jacky’s calmer temperament.

Jacky’s been away from his mob a long time now, working three jobs in the city, casual barman in an Irish pub, occasional performance in cultural dancing and, the most lucrative, as a rent boy. The money he makes as a sex worker being saved so he can buy into the property market.

To Linda, a good willed white woman welfare network provider, Jacky is the epitome of the white woke poster boy of the assimilated Blackfella – aspirational, capitalistic, possessed of cultural connections that can attract philanthropic funding. But for all her good intentions and pragmatic argument, she is culpable in coercing Jacky into cutting cultural corners, insensitive to Indigenous custom.

Embedded racism rears its ugly head in Glenn, a middle aged Caucasian client of Jacky, whose festering big black cock fetish draws him to employ the young man in the first place, proceeds to form a personal relationship based on a professed love that is searingly underscored by a white supremacist mindset of dominance and subjugation.

This is thrilling theatre, the writing diamond sharp and captivating, perfectly structured with cut glass dialogue, thematic seams mindfully mined, flawlessly performed.

Guy Simon as Jacky takes centre stage, appearing in almost every scene, riveting and compelling. Danny Howard as Keith is kinetically charismatic, Mandy McElhinney perfect as the pragmatic Linda, and Greg Stone as Glenn extraordinary in his exasperating and complex portrait of cultural and casual racism.

Production values are equally excellent with Christina Smith's set design filling the space with smart, clear demarcations between bar, bedroom and kitchenette and couch, gloriously complimented by costume designer Emily Barrie, lighting designer Matt Scott, and composer and sound designer James Henry.

Urgent, pungent, powerful, provacative, coruscating, extraordinarily funny and wholly unforgettable, Jacky is the first show of the year for Belvoir and has raised the bar high. A must see.