Lachlan Parry’s Straight Panic, a comedic triptych of short plays, opens at the Popsy this week. Usually one of ATYP’s rehearsal rooms, this intimate space converts into an effective black-box studio (a new initiative under recent Artistic Director Hayden Tonazzi).

Director Lily Hayman, who previously staged the lively [YOUR NAME] at KXT in 2024, returns to similar territory (new writing about young people in the 2000s), bringing across several of the same creatives, including lighting designer Tyler Fitzpatrick and performers Andrew Fraser and Evelina Singh. Esha Jessy, Pierse Cant and Emma Kew complete the cast. Hayman’s charismatic and funny ensemble is, on its own, reason enough to see this show.

ATYP’s Straight Panic. Photo © Phil Erbacher

Parry, an emerging playwright, delivers three self-contained plays, with performers doubling roles. The tone is satirical, a playful jest at straight people and the (often absurd) ways their homophobia manifests in the early 2000s. An urgent meeting is called among the retail staff at Myer George St to address how to discourage gay men from meeting up in their bathrooms. The adult siblings of a conservative MP have their family Christmas disrupted by shocking revelations about the patriarch’s private life.

Finally, in 2005, three impressionable teenage boys sit on Cronulla Beach and discuss going to a ‘meet-up’ because Alan Jones told them to.

The costume (Soham Apte) and sound (Daniel Herten) designs are effectively specific, placing us in a period setting with comedic touches like a vintage 2010 Supre tote bag and a dance sequence to Jai Ho. However, the set, also by Apte, falls a little short. Given the difficult task of spanning three locations, the bright blue backdrop feels at odds with the retail and domestic settings (although it works well for the final, minimalist beach scene).

ATYP’s Straight Panic. Photo © Phil Erbacher

Parry’s dialogue is sharp, laugh-out-loud funny and televisual in style, reminiscent of many popular sitcoms. The first play is Kath & Kim meets The Office. The second – in which wealthy adult siblings play childish games to vie for their parents’ affection – lands somewhere between Succession and Upper Middle Bogan.

The final play is the trickiest: three (apparently) heterosexual teenagers hang out at the beach, trying to impress the popular girl while half-heartedly debating whether to attend the upcoming ‘gathering’. Hayman keeps the mood light, but Parry’s invocation of the 2005 Cronulla riots casts a pall over Straight Panic’s finale.

The production’s commitment to an upbeat comedic tone, and its avoidance of discussing race too explicitly (especially with some colour-blind casting throughout), makes the backdrop of the riots a bold idea that doesn’t fully land.

However, the decision to take a risk with the third act elevates Straight Panic from a very successful broad comedy into something more structurally ambitious, establishing Parry as a writer to watch.

Extremely entertaining and featuring a team packed with exciting, up-and-coming artists, Straight Panic should not be missed.

Straight Panic plays in the ATYP Popsy, Pier 2/3, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay until 27 June.