How Does The Good Son Change Throughout The Play

Following Elena Carapetis’ successful and much-loved play, The Good Son, she brings a new and powerful drama, Gorgon. Best mates, Maz and Lee are undergoing their last year of school, it’s summer and they stand young and free. Maz’s 18th birthday marks a significant milestone in the play which has him gifted a car from his parents. This pushes the pair beyond their limits and has them hooked on typical teenage boy behaviours: drinking, getting high and exceeding the speed limit! Twins Maz and Lola are nothing alike, ironically, they look exactly the same. Lola is introduced in the play at 19 years of age, she’s determined, strong and persistent. Her strong-minded attitude depicts Lola to be the only person willing to pick up the shattered
Lee is the protagonist of the play; he plays a seventeen-year-old who is on the verge of much-needed freedom. He is sensitive to the emotions of others and is often portrayed as depressed. This has Lee isolate himself in his bedroom to escape the world and forget his problems. During the play, the bottling up of Lee’s emotions turns into something rather unlikely, anger. Chiara Gabrielli performs as both Maz and Lola and has recently graduated from Flinders University Drama Centre. Maz is a self-assured, buoyant and rebellious eighteen-year-old. He habitually puts others down to make himself feel better. Naturally, Lee and Maz are conditioned to show no emotions, other than pride, jealousy and anger. Lola is a typical teenager: talkative, courageous and determined. Yet, she seems to be lost in the shadow of her brother Maz, who is supposedly their parents favourite. The loss of Maz and Lee triggers Lola to feel angry, isolated and alone. However, her bold nature has her encourage Lee to rebuild his connection to the
Through this, teenagers are represented as ‘modern men’ in the play whilst exploring the risky behaviours Maz and Lee undertake in their journey. In Australia, teenagers have highest crash risk rate of any age, worst amongst teenagers from 17-18 years of age. Naturally, the biggest killer of young drivers is speeding, most of which are males; just as Maz and Lee in the play. Carapetis carefully explores the social expectations of males and the emotions they are validated to express, known as ‘gendered emotions’. While women are admired for expressing their emotions, males are condemned to express none other than pride, jealousy and anger. Ultimately, these emotions are unhealthy and can often lead to acts of domestic