Content Warnings: In-depth discussion of domestic and gender based violence, mentions of homocide, themes of toxic masculinity

In Australia, one woman is killed every four days as a result of domestic violence.

Tess Walsh, the director of Sevenfold Theatre Company’s ‘The Boys,’ adapts this statistic in a storied play for the modern stage. Under pink and blue lighting, a small space – a living room and a porch – raised voices speak for themselves. This space is all it takes for an intrinsic, palpable violence to be nurtured in the three grown men on stage.

The title thus becomes a cliched excuse: these are men, injected with vitriol against women from birth. But it is still inexcusable, and it culminates in the grotesque murder of a woman, and the emotional suffering of four other women – the three girlfriends and mother of the perpetrators, the three ‘boys’. The title becomes a half-truth: this is not only a story of the ignorant, disgusting ‘boys,’ but also the destruction of the women they knew best. The most fascinating arc and show of strength however, was the community being built by the women in the aftermath of the horrific killing.

The story is about the killers of one of the women who is murdered every four days. This is a story about how ‘men’ breed pure, unbridled hatred in each other and make up excuses for their unforgivable crimes. The excuse is often a loose definition and miscalculation of their “rights.” These make-believe “rights” are often referred to by the brothers, imagined “rights” to drink beer and assault and terrorise women. It genuinely makes you wonder – is this real? Is this dialogue accurate? When Jackie (Karli Rae Riesen) pleads, “Why do they hate us so much?” there is a clear focus…

…One woman is killed every four days.

The dialogue is terrifying in the hands of these actors. This was a small ensemble and there was not one, singular stand-out actor: they played off each other’s energies perfectly, adapting to their roles wholly and ensuring the words are brought to life, more realistic than ever. These are not passing lines in a script. These words are a mirror image of the ever-lasting verbal violence afforded to women. In a testament to the actors’ capabilities, the mere sight of the men on that stage drove up my anxiety. Overwhelmingly, however, it was bearing witness to the women’s strength that overlayed the visual identity of the show: hazy pink lights that complimented their fervent desire to move forward.

The scene that weighed heaviest was one in which Nola (Lucy May Knight) monologues her deep-rooted fears for raising her son – the son she shared with her abusive ex-partner, and one of three murderer-brothers. What Nola discusses here is not an overthought figment: this play proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that boys are taught misogyny, that it is nurtured in them, whilst girls are reared to protect and sacrifice. As Nola holds her son close, it does seem impossible to teach anything else. It’s difficult, at this intersection, to forget that whilst it is one woman who is killed every four days, it is all women that must suffer.

The loss of a woman, in this narrative, is the exchange of selfhood for those closest to the perpetrators. Certainly, at times, it becomes a little too easy to view these women as “instigators” of violence, instead of who they truly are: victims. When the boys’ mother emphasises that her children would never do such a thing, would never kill a woman, we are reminded that oftentimes, those close to perpetrators of gendered violence ensure the preservation of the criminals’ dignity. This occurs simply because hate is fostered in a vacuum, in intrinsic settings that are exclusive or overlooked. Like, for example, the boys standing on the small stage, arms around one another, spitting vitriolic, sharp language at women whose worst crimes were often talking back, or expecting better from their partners.

One woman is killed every four days. It should be obvious: our society is worse off for the imbalanced mistreatment of women, and the loss of one woman’s life is one too many.This iteration of 'The Boys' is one of the most important productions of 2025. It exists in a vacuum of concentrated hatred for women, and it presents how this is fostered in the men around us. A mirror is held to the tragic, disgusting reality of Australia, asking "What are you going to do for The Women?”