The Yum Yum Room

Filip Ranebo; Laura Quirke; Bryan Mackenie

Despite my weekend schedule being filled with science, I managed to make it to the last show of The Yum Yum Room, staged at the Courtyard Playhouse. The coming-of-age play, written by Stephen House and directed by Sarah Dufayard, is set in a town in the playwright's home country of Australia, and touches upon subjects such as bullying, teen rebellion, growing up, and social stigma.

Filip Ranebo; Sol Abiad

The story is kind of open-ended; I'm guessing the titular room itself is a metaphor for escaping within when faced with the real world. Filip Ranebo plays the angst-ridden main character, Tom, who is portrayed as retaining a childish demeanor into adolescence. Major plot elements are his tempestuous relationship with his father, played by Bryan Mackenzie, ridicule from his peer group, and a naive fling with a schoolmate, played by Laura Quirke. Tom deals with these issues with the help of an elderly confidante, Mrs Mac, who is played extremely well by Sol Abiad with an age makeover.