“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

In Lewis Treston’s sparkling, OTT, queer rom-com Hubris & Humiliation, Bernice Delaney is sincerely hoping that Jane Austen’s famous observation is equally true in the gay community.

Roman Delo, Henrietta Enyonam Avemor and Ryan Panizza in Hubris & Humiliation, Sydney Theatre Company, 2023. Photo © Prudence Upton

Having been ripped off in a catfishing scam, which means she is likely to lose her Brisbane home, Bernice decides to send her handsome, but socially awkward son Elliott to Sydney to find a rich husband. In her desperation, she enlists the help of her estranged, fantastically wealthy brother Roland, an ageing queen who lives in a Kirribilli mansion.

Meanwhile, Elliott’s sister Paige is fobbing off her amorous boyfriend Brendan, who she fears is about to propose. Before you know it, Paige has also lobbed up at Uncle Roland’s. From there, Hubris & Humiliation whisks us on a wild, joyous ride from operas and dance parties in Sydney to a flash apartment and hospital in Berlin, and back again.

Treston’s queer homage to...