Theatre Review: The Sum of Us

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Presented by Galleon Theatre Group
Reviewed 31 October 2026

David Stevens’ wonderful play The Sum Of Us is not about being gay, but rather about acceptance and familial bonds. Set in Melbourne in the 1990s, the play concerns itself with Harry Mitchell (John Rosen), a widower, bringing up his plumber son, Jeff (Matthew Chant), who is gay. Theirs is a loving, nurturing relationship that is all too real.

This whole production is just so real thanks to Lesley Reed’s concise and precise direction. Every emotion and laugh (and there are many) lands straight to our hearts and funny bones. Reed along with her cast (Rosen, Chant, Christopher Cordeaux and Julie Quick), delivers a production that is basically flawless. There has been a lot of love and dedication put into this production and it shows. There are monologues dotted throughout the play given by Rosen and Chant that show a deftness in handling that Reed has obviously had a huge influence in.

The set as designed by Reed and Kym Clayton is so wonderfully Australian bungalow and atmospheric with its kitchen (filled with old fashioned Aussie white goods) and a very ‘fashionable’ (of the 60s and 70s) faux brick wallpapered feature wall that it doesn’t feel like a set. The park scene at the end of the play is also a triumph in all ways. Timothy Hall and Warren McKenzie’s sound design is another triumph in realism with twittering birds and dogs barking (all fairly subliminal) in the park scene and a squeaky gate as cast entered and left the house. Trish Winfield’s lighting design is also atmospheric without being obtrusive – again, particularly in the park scene.

The song that is played in scene changes is a beautiful original song Stronger Than Our Fears composed especially for this production and sung by local Adelaide actor Lindsay Dunn.

Christopher Cordeaux plays Greg, the potential boyfriend of Jeff’s. He gives a nicely honed portrayal of a homosexual looking for the right kind of love and companionship but fearsome of the consequences (remember this was the 90s when being gay was not as accepted as it is today and AIDS was rampant). He works well with Chant and is suitably nervous opposite Rosen’s Harry. Cordeaux does something that is not easy in acting: he gives so much pent-up emotion into just three words that you could hear an intake of breath from the entire audience when he uttered them. 

Experienced Adelaide actor Julie Quick makes the most of the one scene that she is in, as Harry’s intended romance, Joyce. Her task is to create a character in a very small amount of stage time which she carries off with aplomb. We can’t quite come to grips with Joyce’s final reactions but the way Quick plays it, we can feel sympathy for her.

The biggest proportion of the story is handled by Rosen and Chant as Harry and Jeff respectively making the show in effect a two hander.

With his immense stage experience, Rosen is the perfect choice to play lovable, affectionate yet masculine dad Harry. His is an excellent portrayal of a man accepting (sometimes a little too eagerly) his son’s sexuality. Rosen is entirely in control of his persona and delivers his final monologue, in particular, with flair and a bit of called for bite.

Chant as son Jeff gives a magnificently sublime performance. He is just so natural. He is a typical Aussie bloke who just happens to be gay. Chant is incredibly believable in the part and never exaggerates the ‘gayness’ (no over the top La Cage Aux Folles theatrics here). The character is a ‘bloke’s bloke’ with no histrionics, and that is exactly how Chant plays it. His is a master class in Naturalism! His interactions with Rosen and Cordeaux are natural and the chemistry between him and the other two just sparks (especially with Rosen). An astounding performance!

Galleon Theatre Group are known for their high standard of community theatre and with The Sum Of Us that certainly hasn’t changed. In fact, this production may have just raised their bar of excellence even higher.

Reviewed by Brian Godfrey

Photo credit: supplied