A first job remains a formative experience for most young people. That initiation into workplace hierarchies, customer service indignities, and the reality that your labour is worth less than an adult's simply because of your age. Honor Webster-Mannison's Work, But This Time Like You Mean It transforms this universal rite of passage into surreal theatre that's both deeply personal and politically pointed.
After a sold-out Canberra season that impressed critics, the production arrives at The Rebel Theatre for a limited October run. The premise (fast-food workers trapped in a dystopian time loop where shifts never end and customers keep coming) uses an absurdist framework to examine very real exploitation. The neon-lit nightmare of perpetual labour serves as a metaphor for what many young workers experience: time that stretches endlessly, conditions that feel inescapable, and the grinding repetition of low-wage service work.
Webster-Mannison's research grounds the surrealism into this documented reality. Her citation of statistics about junior wages and workplace violations transforms what could be simple comedy into something more incisive (the fact that ninety percent of KFC team members are under 25, combined with data showing young workers face more wage theft and fewer union protections, provides sobering context for the play's chaotic energy).
The two-year development process involving Canberra Youth Theatre's emerging artists presents this work with the authenticity of young people's experiences, rather than adult interpretations of youth. This collaborative creation model, drawing from actual first-job stories and academic research on youth labour exploitation, yields material that feels genuine rather than condescending.
Director Luke Rogers' description of the work as "completely unhinged" promises some theatrical abandon that delivers on the exploitation critique. The best political theatre often works through excess rather than earnest message-delivery, using heightened theatrical language to make visible what workplace normalisation obscures. When you're told that smelling of salt and having grease-permeated sneakers is just part of the job, surreal theatre that amplifies these conditions can reveal their absurdity.
The eight-person ensemble faces the challenge of maintaining a coherent narrative within a deliberately chaotic structure. The time-loop premise, where time moves backwards and shifts never end, requires some pretty clever theatrical execution to avoid genuine confusion. The production's 60-minute duration is tightly paced and maintains momentum while exploring the script's darkly comic potential.
The Rebel Theatre at Walsh Bay provides an appropriate setting for work that is this immediate and raw. Youth theatre often benefits from close audience proximity where the energy of young performers can directly engage viewers without the distancing effect of larger venues. For the twelve touring artists, many experiencing their first professional tour, the space should prove both challenging and supportive.
The production's success in Canberra proves that the material is relevant beyond any local context. Fast-food work as a metaphor for youth labour exploitation translates across geographical boundaries, making the Sydney season more than a simple touring curiosity. The work speaks to systemic issues affecting young people nationally.
There is a strong language warning and the 15+ age recommendation suggests this is theatre willing to represent youth experiences authentically, rather than sanitising it for adult comfort. Young workers curse, face exploitation, and experience workplace conditions that deserve any representation on stage matching the reality.
This production offers the opportunity to engage with theatre that treats young people's labour issues as worthy of serious artistic attention. The combination of political substance and theatrical playfulness promises entertainment that doesn't sacrifice critique for accessibility.
Work, But This Time Like You Mean It runs October 15-18 at The Rebel Theatre, Walsh Bay. Tickets from $35. Details and bookings here: www.canberrayouththeatre.com.au/work-but-2025
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