Cast your mind back to the time you were 16. Remember the rage you felt towards everything – namely your parents, school and anyone else who tried to tell you what you could or couldn’t do?
Watching the Griffin Independent’s The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You certainly took me back to this period – reminding me of the contrived, self-righteous and ungrateful little shit that I was.
Through its snappy and at times hilarious dialogue, The Violent Outburst tells the story of the angst-ridden teenager Connor (Michael Cutrupi), whose tantrums and episodes of rage towards his family and friends result in his parents (Emily Ayoub and Anthony Weir) leaving him alone in a forest for a week.
Alone, Connor faces his demons and experiences a range of emotions (as you would if your parents dumped you in the Blue Mountains for a week without your iPhone) until he meets another like-minded angry girl who wanders into the woods, challenging and questioning Connor’s every emotion.
As simple as the story sounds, The Violent Outburst weaves a magical and intriguing tale, often tongue-in-cheek and always downright funny. Combining dance, music and puppetry, the play’s energy is infectious and the small, yet tight cast (also featuring Natalia Ladyko and Renee Heys) works wonderfully at putting your imagination to the test.
Emanating a familiar ‘fuck you’ adolescent attitude, The Violent Outburst reminds us of a time we’d probably all rather forget, capturing the teen spirit so effectively you can almost smell it.
4/5 stars
The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You is playing at SBW Stables Theatre until Saturday July 12.
