Following on from the rousing reception of Ate Lovia and The Marriage Agency, theatre collective kwento caps off a stellar 2022 season with One Hour No Oil, a new play from director Kenneth Moraleda, who co-writes with Jordan Shea.
It’s 2012 and Bhing (John Gomez Goodway, The Peasant Prince) has been working as a massage therapist in Perth, having immigrated from the Philippines four years ago. He dreams of regaining his teaching credentials and moving out of the service industry. A new client, Scott (NIDA graduate Shaw Cameron, Trainspotting) is a FIFO coal miner caught up in a world of oppressive toxic masculinity and battling for a sense of himself.
Over a number of massage appointments, the pair alternatively butt heads and find common ground, contrasting their wildly different value systems and approaches to masculine friendship and emotional intimacy. Along the way this intimate show takes in themes of racism, mental health, patriarchy, and conditioned hatred, ultimately delivering a two-hander of uncommon power, perception and nuance.
One Hour No Oil runs at the Kings Cross Theatre (KXT) from October 26 to November 5, 2022. Find out more here.
