“Dear Brother” is a Queensland production that shows the warm souls of men. A delicately balanced piece, it incorporates the realities of life in Queensland for young First Nations men while leading us to a place where all men can find their soft souls. And all women can appreciate these. It provides a much needed vision for a future in which kind and caring men provide leadership.

Written by Lenny Donahue and Tibian Wyles, both from North Queensland, “Dear Brother” is a story about young men growing up and away from their family support, and finding themselves through overcoming their troubles. It’s a gentle piece, incorporating dance, song and drama against a scenery of exquisite design and construction, by Kevin O’Brien.

The stand out performance was by Kilton Pell, who played four characters impeccably. His characters were the elders: the father, grandfather, uncle and spirit elder. He provided a solid support for the young men as they grew. We don’t see many examples of whole men in our public life and our theatres. Pell captured the essence of manhood in its great variety, and lent hope and forgiveness to the young men’s struggles.

The three young men; Jazz (Benjin Maza), Ezra (Lenny Donahue) and Destyn (Tibian Wyles), share their journeys to full adulthood. As you’d expect in the lives of First Nations boys in North Queensland, they aren’t smooth. There is limited social support outside their own communities and dealing with blatant racism is their main challenge. Sometimes they fail, other times they succeed.

This is a show that should travel extensively throughout Queensland and further afield. It brings real hope to us all. In a time of changing expectations of men, this show will enliven the debate and provide examples of how men can and do support each other.

“Dear Brother” isn’t all fairy tales. There are hard moments in it, especially Destyn’s letter from his imprisoned brother. It was very difficult to hear. And life is full of “difficult to hear” moments. The actors grew the characters before our eyes, under the watchful guidance of the various elder men in their lives.

Isaac Drandic’s direction brought out the best in the playwrights and the actors. It is a piece for the times.

Highly recommended.

At the Billie Brown theatre, South Brisbane until 28th September, 2024. https://queenslandtheatre.com.au/plays/dear-brother