What do we do with the boys that no one wants to deal with anymore?

That’s the crisis at the centre of Monster by Duncan Macmillan, the Sydney premiere production directed by Kim Hardwick and produced by Tiny Dog Productions at KXT on Broadway. 

Fourteen-year old Darryl (Campbell Parsons) has been deemed ‘too disruptive’ for lessons and is sent to private sessions with trainee teacher Tom (Tony J Black).

Darryl, raised by his grandmother (Linda Nicholls-Gidley) since a traumatic childhood event, is brash, distractible and fascinated by violence. Tom is in over his head, but powers through, a pre-emptive attempt to ‘prove’ his worth as a father before his girlfriend Jodi (Romney Hamilton) gives birth to their first child.

Campbell Parsons in Monster. Photo © Abraham de Souza

This 2007 script is the first play by Duncan Macmillan, now a leading contemporary English playwright known for confronting social issues in his work (Lungs, People, Places and Things). The subject matter is compelling, and Macmillan’s investigation into the factors that create a kid like Darryl (fate, genetics, class, education, parenting style) are urgent and thoughtful.

The script’s handling of neurodiversity and trauma (particularly discussions...