A teenage boy about to commit the unthinkable. Two parents committed to appearances. A gold star sticker chart. Armed with a therapist’s points-based rewards system, and their own DIY de-radicalisation plan, Mary-Beth and Sam are determined to scrub the hate out of their son James – one “good boy” point at a time. But as they tie him up in their dusty attic, and attempt to chip away at his planned violence, they’re forced to face something far darker: the part they played in creating him.
Welcome to The Good Boy Game — a furious, darkly funny deep-dive into radicalisation, masculinity, and the price we pay to seem like good people. What this work offers isn’t a neat answer or a moral high ground, but a furious, funny, and deeply uncomfortable interrogation of a crisis that touches everyone.
The Good Boy Game is part satire, part warning, and part catharsis: a black comedy powered by four of Canberra’s sharpest actors, led by one of Canberra’s most unrelenting young female directors, and confronting the evil that lurks within bedrooms, family photos, and online rabbit holes. The Good Boy Game is sharp, brutally relevant, and gold star sticker good.
