If We Got Some More Cocaine, I Could Show You How I Love You

by John O'Donovan

John O'Donovan's darkly comedic romantic drama follows Mikey and Casey, two gay young men marooned atop a rooftop in County Clare, Ireland, hiding from the Gardai after robbing a service station. Presented as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival at the Meat Market Stables, this two-hander play required a striking set design that could heighten the tension between the characters while navigating the challenges of a shared venue.

The design concept centred around creating a steeply raked, sloping rooftop that would serve as the play's focal point, intensifying Mikey and Casey's interactions and movements as they navigate their precarious situation both literally and metaphorically. The monochromatic electric blue paint treatment emphasised the set's architectural form while pointing towards the toxic masculinity-fueled internalised homophobia that the characters grapple with.

In collaboration with Beltalowda Scenery, the set was conceived as a series of modular units on teflon sliders, allowing for quick and easy assembly and disassembly within minutes by a single stage manager. The resulting design successfully captured the essence of the play's setting while providing a dynamic and transformative space for the actors to inhabit.

Remounted in 2023.

Role

Set & Costume Designer

Producer

Gavin Roach

Venue

Arts House Meat Market

Collaborators

Director: Christian Cavallo
Lighting Designer: Spencer Herd
Remount Lighting Designer: Iz Zettl
Sound Designer: Jack Burmeister
Set Construction: Jim Stenson

Photography: Teresa Fortunato (2022), Alex Winner (2023)

On the steeply raked blue roof, Grant Young as Casey, in a black track jacket and grey trackpants, squares up to Lachlan Blair as Mikey, in a purple hoodie and slides, who holds out a bag of sweets.

Grant Young as Casey, in a black track jacket and holding a can of cola, sits on the roof's edge beneath the lighting rig beside Lachlan Blair as Mikey, in a purple hoodie, white socks and slides.

Grant Young as Casey, in a black track jacket and orange T-shirt, sprawls on the blue rooftop turning a toy car in his fingers, while Lachlan Blair as Mikey, in a purple hoodie, sits behind him.

Under green light, Asher Griffith-Jones as Casey, in a black track jacket and orange T-shirt, sits cross-legged on the raked roof while River Stevens as Mikey, in a purple hoodie, leans over the chimney stack.

Wide view of the electric-blue rooftop set in the Meat Market Stables: a sloping roof and chimney stack, with Asher Griffith-Jones as Casey and River Stevens as Mikey perched on its edge and audience seats in silhouette.

River Stevens as Mikey, in a purple hoodie, trackpants and slides, yells from the ridge of the blue rooftop, the chimney stack behind him and a hurley lying on the slope.

Reviews

"Casey Harper-Wood's set design provides a dangerously three-dimensional playground for the actors and ensures they are never on a solid footing. The standalone structure was an excellent choice for this piece giving us a slanting suburban island on which to maroon the young lovers."
– Australian Stage

"Casey Harper-Wood’s creation of a suburban roof is a fantastic piece of design that the actors clearly relish playing on."
– Theatre Matters