Written by Sam Grabiner

Directed by Keegan Bragg
presented by The Maybe Pile

at fortyfivedownstairs - 45 Flinders Lane, Naarm (Melbourne)
12 - 30 March 2025

The Maybe Pile presented the Australian premiere of Sam Grabiner’s Olivier Award winning play Boys on the Verge of Tears in March 2025 under the direction of 2023 MinterEllison Future Director Keegan Bragg.

Boys on the Verge of Tears is a bold, searing exploration of masculinity and youth, capturing the raw, unfiltered lives of boys and men grappling with identity, vulnerability, and the pressure to conform, set entirely within the intimate confines of a men’s public bathroom. 

A powerhouse cast of 5, Ben Walter, Karl Richmond, Justin Hocking, Damon Baudin and newcomer Akeel Purmanund inhabited 40 characters as this deeply human play unfolded in a unique series of encounters. Moments of recklessness, bravado, and unexpected tenderness, immersed audiences in the unfiltered experience of young men navigating the tumultuous journey into adulthood.

 With sharp humour and a profound sensitivity Grabiner’s play dismantles masculine façades of toughness and dissects the fears, dreams, and insecurities buried beneath.

Produced by The Maybe Pile, which also gave us Trophy Boys, it’s an outstanding premiere of a compelling new play,
among the best Melbourne’s indie theatre has to offer.

Every kind of male neurosis is sketched with precision, and the design is equally accomplished, from the atmospheric score to the exquisitely rendered grime and ordure of the replica toilets.

★★★★ - The Age

This complex undertaking is superbly handled by Ben Walter, Karl Richmond, Justin Hosking, Damon Baudin and Akeel Purmanund.

The excellent costume design and Keegan Bragg’s clever direction make it easy to identify and distinguish the different time frames and life stage of the action. 

★★★★ - ArtsHub

This new play was an unexpected delight and felt truly unique.

The Maybe Pile’s Melbourne production of Boys on the Verge of Tears captures everything it needs to

★★★★ - Lilithia Reviews

I wasn’t just on the verge of tears at the end, I was crying.
The show snuck up on me, by being honest about men’s penchant for violence and capacity for real emotion.
It talked about physicality, sexual desire, compassion, and the expectations on men in far more interesting ways than I expected after the earlier blunt, confronting scenarios.

The Maybe Pile has another hit on their hands.

- Keith Gow

An unflinching deep dive into manhood and its formation, arrestingly staged by one of Melbourne’s best up-and-coming independent companies, The Maybe Pile.

We’re in a public bathroom in fortyfivedownstairs: mould-green cubicle doors, graffitied tiles, a working trough centre stage, a dripping urinal in the corner (designed with remarkable attention to detail by Ben Andrews).

- Limelight

Boys on the Verge of Tears transforms the public bathroom from a mere restroom into a stage for vulnerability, humour, and connection.

Under Keegan Bragg’s direction, they execute seamless and surprising character transitions complete with swift costume changes.

- My Melbourne Arts

Working with a tight ensemble of five actors playing nearly 50 roles, director Keegan Bragg imbues the work with infectious energy.

Extremely well prepared, the actors bounce off each other as if they are months into a long run; the work, at times, even having a feel as though it is being improvised spontaneously before our eyes. 

Set designer Ben Andrews crafts an extraordinarily realistic setting of five cubicles, urinal, and central basin with actual running water. Brunswick green cubicle doors are framed by green and white subway tiles, all realistically smeared with years of grime and graffiti from scenic artist Louisa Fitzgerald. 

- Man In Chair

I thought Boys on the Verge of Tears was outstanding.

It wreaks of authenticity and has been expertly realised by the talented cast that slips effortlessly from one character (and costume) to the next, more than 40 in all.

- The Theatre

It feels almost as if the set designer Ben Andrews, and scenic artist Louisa Fitzgerald, tore this bathroom straight out of a train station. The attention to detail is incredible.

Boys on the Verge of Tears features an exceptional cast of players, all successfully managing the hefty task of switching between multiple characters.

- Theatre Thoughts