SummerWorks 2007: Nelly Boy

Nelly Boy is the story of of Nelson/Nelly, a genderqueer teen being interrogated by a mysterious man after a series of events that occurred at a shopping mall. The play is written by the talented Dave Deveau (pictured) who h-core fans will remember from his days on the sweet 90s spooky anthology series Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Nelly Boy's production is very solid. Christine Horne's direction is topnotch, and combined with excellent design and performances, the show is remarkably tight. There are times when you can tell Deveau's script began as a monologue and there is definitely still room for it to develop and grow, but it has so much heart in it that it's difficult not to be won over.

Particularly worthy of note is Cole J. Alvis' exceptional turn as Nelly. He brings such believable humanity to a role that can't have been that easy to play. If you can sit through the entire play without once having even the vague desire to go and give him a hug, then it is likely that your heart is three sizes too small.

For jaded queer theorists, there may not be any radically new ideas about gender in this show, but it still presents its concepts in an original and touching way that anyone should be able to relate to.