Aug 283 min read

Pickled ﻛﺑﯾس - Belvoir St 25A (NSW)

Concept Created by Najee Tannous. Story by Najee Tannous, Antony Makhlouf, Hayden Tonazzi, May Yousif, and Francesco Pelli.

A piece that harnesses ingenuity and resourcefulness to create a production that is triumphant whilst balancing tension and realism

Reviewed by Justin Clarke

Belvoir St 25A Theatre, Surry Hills

Until 8th September, 2024

Tickets: https://belvoir.com.au/productions/pickled/

Marginalised voices often take shape in the darkness of a black box space in theatre. Under the warm glow of a par can light, their marginalisation in society and voices are shown, telling stories that are both unique yet wholly resonant to those who yearn for such stories to be told. Pickled ﻛﺑﯾس sheds light on the voices of queer Arab men, offering audiences of Belvoir’s 25A a heartfelt story of familial connections and masculinity.

Sitting under a cool blue light, a jar of pickles (or dill, depending) separates brothers Sammy (Najee Tannous) and Yousif (Antony Makhlouf) in a bizarre bequest from their late mother’s passing. The tension between the two is palpable, a reunion that should be sweet is instead sour and sombre as an unspoken tension builds.

Pickled ﻛﺑﯾس, Belvoir 25A Theatre (2024). Images by Anna Kucera

As we discover more about their lives, we learn that Sammy, the younger brother, stayed home to care for their elderly, sharp-tongued mother, whilst Yousif cleared out of the family home to Queanbeyan unwilling to hide his true self. Left behind, Sammy’s grudge at his brother's ability to live his life as an openly gay man has built a resentment between them. Instead, the two are now left to deal with the physical and emotional baggage their mother has left behind.

Belvoir St’s 25A program offers a theatre specifically for independent artists to showcase new pieces of work, designated to companies and artists who are at the forefront of developmental work in the Sydney arts scene. The challenge offered to them is to create their work on a budget of only $2,500, with tickets being sold for only $25 ($20 in previews). It's the artist's goal to rise to this occasion, working within the boundaries of the space and budget given to them, utilising the opportunity as effectively as possible.

...the resourcefulness is to be applauded.

It struck me as odd then, that in comparison to other shows performed at 25A this year, the guidelines of the program were laid out at the beginning of the piece, and outside the theatre space itself. Before long however, the reason became abundantly clear, making Pickled ﻛﺑﯾس an absolute triumph in the 25A program itself.

Soham Apte’s set design builds to a claustrophobic intensity as the two brothers sift through the hoarding stored away in their mother’s house. Sammy’s refusal to throw away even the most useless of materials (a jar of mismatched buttons could be a collector’s item, he assures Yousif) shows the toxic traits passed on from mother to son. The sheer volume of goods arranged in the space speaks volumes to the ingenuity of the creative team to work between the boundaries of the program’s budget, and the resourcefulness is to be applauded.

...a piece that is triumphant and hilarious, whilst balancing tension and realism

Both Tannous and Makhlouf play a carefully crafted balancing game as the two brothers. Starting at opposite ends of each other’s lived experiences, they slowly come together by the end of the piece, bringing an ending that is both warm and humorous, whilst being heartfelt and pure. The wake for their mother offers, ironically, the most hilarious moments of the piece as the pair offer up a slice of comedic relief before ending on a truthfully sombre note.

Co-Direction by May Yousif and Hayden Tonazzi offers a light to a marginalised section of voices that speaks to the conflicting notions of queerness and masculinity in a traditionally religious society. It’s a piece that is triumphant and hilarious, whilst balancing tension and realism and is a fitting and joyous tribute to the 25A program.