shake & stir theatre company have adapted Shannon Molloy’s 2020 memoir Fourteen into a gut-wrenching but joyful play of the same name, which made its world premiere at QPAC as part of Brisbane Festival 2022.

Conor Leach in Fourteen. Photo © David Fell

Directed by Nick Skubij, who adapted the work with shake & stir co-Artistic Director Nelle Lee and author Shannon Molloy, Fourteen documents Molloy’s experiences growing up as a gay teenager in central Queensland. Attending an all-boys Catholic school in the small coastal town of Yeppoon, 14-year-old Shannon is bullied relentlessly for a sexuality he is only just discovering, experiences his first love, and is routinely belittled and betrayed by both his peers and his teachers. Caught in the crush of homophobia, surrounded by violence bred of boredom and a narrow definition of masculinity, but held by a protective family, close friends, and a few pivotal allies, Shannon is able to dream bigger than those small minds and, crucially, escape from the small town they inhabit.

The audience first encountered the character of Shannon on his wedding day, establishing the story as one of triumph over trauma. From this...