Afterglow, making its Australian premiere at Chapel off Chapel, is an examination of modern queer relationships, breaking down a central theme of polyamory. Written, directed and choreographed by S. Asher Gelman and presented by Midnight Theatricals, it looks at the blurring of lines between sex, love and open relationships.
Set on a mirrored stage, an almost sheer cloth shrouds the cast in silhouette. Their bodies dance and play in the light, before the sheet drops, and the afterglow of a threesome emerges.
Matthew Mitcham as Josh, Julian Curtis as Alex and Matthew Predny as Darius banter playfully and establish dynamics. This is about Josh and Alex, a married couple with a third, Darius, for the night, but not their first.
Josh and Alex are expecting a baby through surrogacy. Josh quite likes Darius, and Darius takes a liking to Josh. They establish some boundaries, friends with benefits, and Alex approves, but asserts he has the say if things go too far.
Things get messy fast. Darius and Josh fall in love. Alex gets insecure and jealous. Money is exchanged behind backs. And all of the stress accumulates with the reminder that Josh and Alex have a baby on the way.
Afterglow is sexy and serious, driven by some great writing and gripping performances. Matthew Predny plays the youthful Darius, naive, trusting and optimistically hopeful in love. Matthew Mitcham’s Josh is hot-headed and needy, emotionally turbulent and easily pulled in by Darius’ light and freedom.
Julian Curtis is the real emotional driving force of the show. Curtis balances Alex’s insecurity with his indecisiveness, and we, as the audience, weigh up both sides of each dilemma he faces with him.
His character is unreasonable at times, but at least for me, I still reasoned with him. Alex’s inner turmoil about how to confront his husband is so delicately handled, and Curtis brings a real sensitivity to each of his scenes.
The costume design, by Lauren Peters, is simple, with a real focus on the body. It is a clever costuming choice in that the most revealing scenes for each character are always when they are fully clothed.
It’s a nice use of subversion to convey the full-frontal moments as peaceful and serene, simple even. It’s the moments that come after that serve as the beats of vulnerability for the characters.
I loved the staging, which sees each transition between rebuilding the space acted out by the cast who use small moments to develop character dynamics. On the mirrored floor, a series of stools move around to create a series of identifiable spaces.
The mirrors of the floor and walls of the set, designed by Ann Beyersdorfer, are lit from the inside, which initially paints the stage a warm, rosy purple. Eventually, they turn to a stark, pulsing white for the show’s conclusion.
As the warmth drips away from the story, so too does the light. Jamie Roderick’s lighting design uses strobing in the final act, a really powerful way to build intensity.
The show is performed to a punchy, synthy, techno-pop sound, amping up the sexuality of the story. Alex Mackyol’s sound design mimics that of a club and is reminiscent of scores recently used in Challengers and Heated Rivalry. It creates an immediately recognisable sexual tension, something that entrances the body into movement, exalted by passion.
Afterglow is charged by strong performances and modern themes that speak directly to contemporary queer relationships. Seeing the play with an audience celebrating Midsumma Festival in Melbourne gives the work an added resonance.
As the play reminds us, there are no fairytales about polyamory. Only the messy, human work of loving honestly.
Afterglow runs to 21 February at Chapel Off Chapel in Melbourne as part of 2026 Midsumma Festival. Little Chapel Street Prahran Vic 3181.
It then runs in Sydney from 26 February – 22 March at Eternity Playhouse. Burton Street Darlinghurst NSW 2010.
Tickets to Melbourne are here and Sydney are here.
Website: https://www.afterglowplay.com/australia
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/afterglowtheplay/
Photo credits: Cameron Grant
