By Nick Dent
Amid the chaos of COVID in early 2020, the publication of Shannon Molloy’s book Fourteen still landed a knockout punch.
A devastating memoir of the persecution Molloy suffered at the hands of both students and teachers at a Catholic school in Yeppoon in 2000, the book proved a #MeToo moment for gay teenagers.
Actor Conor Leach (left) is starring in the play Fourteen, based on the memoir by Shannon Molloy (right), and is portraying the author.Credit: Joel Devereux
“It was the most incredible thing, not just to have people read it, but to have people resonate with it,” says Molloy, now a Sydney-based journalist.
“And not just queer people, but also young people who feel trapped in their suffocating hometowns, no matter who they are.”
Soon the notes of thanks started flooding in: emails, Facebook messages, handwritten letters; from tiny Australian towns and as far away as Germany and the USA; from bullied kids, their parents and grandparents and, devastatingly, the bereaved.
Molloy’s biggest surprise, however, came when he received an Instagram message from Brisbane’s Shake & Stir theatre company inquiring if the stage rights were available.
“Barely 18 months later, it was on a stage,” Molloy marvels.
Karen Crone and Conor Leach in Fourteen. The play enjoyed a sold-out run at Brisbane Festival in 2022.Credit: Joel Devereux
Shake & Stir’s Fourteen premiered at the Brisbane Festival in 2022 and was a sellout. Now the production has been revived and is in the middle of a four-month national tour taking in not just capital cities but Bathurst, Dubbo and Orange in NSW and Townsville, Maryborough, Toowoomba and Gladstone in Queensland.
It’s also playing in Rockhampton – just 40km down the road from Yeppoon.
“I’m really excited that this story is going home,” says Molloy.
Nick Skubij, the show’s director and co-adaptor (with Nelle Lee), discovered Fourteen in a Gold Coast bookshop in late 2019 and found it instantly relatable.
“We just thought, this has just got everything that you want in a play. It’s got all the adversity, the characters and the heart, and all to the soundtrack of these incredible ’90s pop songs,” Skubij says.
Following a performance of Fourteen in Port Macquarie last week, actor Conor Leach, who stars as Molloy, took part in a Q&A with audience members.
Judy Hainsworth, Conor Leach and Amy Ingram in Fourteen.Credit: Joel Devereux
“One student said they’d just moved to Port Macquarie because they’d been bullied for being queer in a remote town in New South Wales,” Leach says.
“It’s those moments where you tangibly feel how this story is reaching out to audiences.”
The play has not found a home everywhere it has been offered.
“It’s quite confronting to a lot of communities,” says Skubij. “Venues haven’t been able to present the show because they’re concerned about how the town will react.”
Says Molloy: “We’ve had towns where we can’t give away tickets because the schools are terrified about even suggesting to parents that they come to a show with queer themes in it.
“Things have changed, but we still have a long way to go.”
Molloy’s story details horrendous verbal and physical abuse by students, but what is more shocking is the behaviour of the teachers.
One told him he would “go to hell”. A school counsellor advised him to “walk less gay”. And one teacher actively held him up to the ridicule of his peers.
A fashion show that Molloy masterminds offers him something to look forward to in Fourteen. Left to right: Leon Cain, Conor Leach and Judy Hainsworth. Credit: David Fell
“He is still teaching,” Molloy says – but not at the same school. In fact, the Yeppoon school has had a culture shift to the extent where a recent incident had the principal emailing parents to recommend they buy and read Fourteen.
“The school feels bad about what happened back then. They now have programs making all kids feel welcomed and supported, and they recognise that things need to continue to change.”
Molloy says his story could have easily had a tragic ending, like that of Tyrone Unsworth, a 13-year-old student of Aspley State High School who died by suicide in 2016 after years of bullying.
According to the Queensland Family and Child Commission, suicide was the leading external cause of death for young people aged 10-14 years over the five years from 2017 to 2022.
Molloy says the point of the show is offering hope: “To really drive home the message that it always gets better.
“All young people, regardless of what they’re struggling with, deserve to feel safe and secure in their communities and their homes and in their schools.”
If you or anyone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (and see lifeline.org.au) or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 (and see beyondblue.org.au).
Fourteen plays at the Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, June 12-July 6; then on to Townsville (July 11), Maryborough (July 17), Toowoomba (July 19), Rockhampton (July 24), Gladstone (July 26), Mackay (July 30), Gold Coast (Aug 2), Adelaide (Aug 7-10), Darwin (Aug 15-16), Cairns (Aug 23), Launceston (Aug 27) and Geelong (Aug 30-31).