A woman takes us aside, then wholly take us in with a tale of how she met her husband. The setup unfolds like a popular bestseller – adventure, drugs, conquests, international travel, debauchery, female models and misconceptions – told with a sparkling humour that resonates widely.

Woman (character name) is dressed pragmatically – a patterned shirt to camouflage child-produced detritus, an up-do favoured by the time poor, and velcro fastening shoes that will tread the path of maximum efficiency in her bustling existence. The bonhomie and delight of the stories are tinged with a realisation that Woman is relaying a journey of self-discovery that suggests the road to this point was a lot more enjoyable than the one she is about to take us on.

Justine Clarke in Girls & Boys. Photo © Sam Roberts/State Theatre Company South Australia

Girls & Boys is the innocuously labelled 2018 monologue by British writer Dennis Kelly, whose direct address style here examines the breadth of what it is to be a person.

Belying the latent naiveté of the title, this gruesomely dark tale draws a portrait of humanity that starts with an infatuation that...