2026: Thom Pain by Will Eno

 

 

Thom Pain (based on nothing) by Will Eno.  Mill Theatre, Dairy Road, Canberra, April 16 – 25, 2026 

Reviewed by Frank McKone
April 16

Cast
Thom Pain: Joey Minogue

Production Team
Playwright: Will Eno
Director and Mentor: Maddie Lee
Production Assistant and Acting Coach: Mark Lee
Stage Manager: Bea Grant

Co-Producers: Joey Minogue and Lexi Sekuless



In an ironic view of life, Thom Pain presents himself as a magician who can never succeed to make magic because what happens to any of us is at random chance.  The greater irony that I find is that the performer of the character succeeds very well in creating the magic of theatre.

Though theatre is an illusion, seeming to make fiction real, the success of creating an entertainment which is essentially philosophically cynical, undermines that very cynicism, because the experience we have in the theatre remains positive and memorable – it is the very magic which can be achieved by good directing and excellent acting.

Making good theatre is not an illusion, but emotional reality.

And then the question of the purpose of the play gets even more complicated.  If Will Eno meant to be cynical about trying to succeed in life, how does he live with the success of his own writing?

Or does this mean that I should be cynical about Will Eno’s intention?  Is the implied reference in his character’s name to the 18th Century Thomas Payne, who wrote The Age of Reason, a denial of the value of rational thought?

Or should I praise Will Eno for being an empiricist skeptic?

No matter how you take the meaning of the play, it is another great example of the thoughtful choice of theatre presented by Lexi Sekuless and Mill Theatre.  Suitable for grinding at The Mill, you might say.

The performance by Joey Minogue of the continual switching back and forth between the internal mental state of the Thom Pain character and his direct relationship with the audience, very much like a stand-up comedian, is fascinating to watch, to react to and even to take part in.

It’s a demanding solo performance, demanding from us great respect.

 
©Frank McKone, Canberra