Two twentysomethings decide never to be stressed about anything ever again, ever - Canberra Youth theatre, Canberra Theatre Courtyard Studio, 9-14 Dec

 

It's a familiar enough premise since the New Wave of Australian drama in the late 60s/Early 70s - the foibles and neuroses of 20somethings, presented with gentle humour as they work their way around the challenges of early adulthood. It's how writers like Alex Buzo, Jack Hibberd and David Williamson got their start. And in Michael Costi's comedy, it's a great end-of-year tonic to a year that has been fairly damn stressful.

Of course the titular premise has a big hole in it, because stress can't be disposed of by just deciding not to be stressed, and the two main characters, Boyfriend (Elliot Cleaves) and Girlfriend (Martha Russell), are both hilarious as they attempt to bottle and deny their gathering angst, through ASMR podcasts, work and impromptu Kombucha parties with their New Best Friend (Blue Hyslop). There are gags a-plenty and Luke Rogers' production gives it a smooth, stylish gleam, on Aislinn King's modern wire-diagram set. 

Costi's script is joke-filled but also has a reasonable amount of soul to it, and gives the performers plenty of space to shine. True, this isn't the most exciting of the three big offerings that Canberra Youth theatre gave us this year, but that's only because the first two kinda blew my mind while this one just amused me a fair bit. Still, light relief after the 2021 we've had feels kinda worth it