IT’S a pretty fair bet – and I don’t say this very often – that ACT Hub in Kingston when it opens its 2023 season with “Holding The Man” will have a hit on its hands. I’d recommend booking fast.

In one of the innovative initiatives that the small, independent collective of theatre makers has introduced, earlier this week  director Jarrad West, with Queanbeyan-born, star playwright Tommy Murphy as his invited guest, hosted an “In The Room” session, made up of an open rehearsal, drinks and an opportunity to chat with the playwright.

This kind of initiative makes ACT Hub the place to be in the Canberra theatre scene.

“Holding The Man” is an adaptation of Timothy Conigrave’s posthumous 1995 memoir about growing up gay in the ’70s and falling in love with his schoolmate, John Caleo.

The stage adaptation by Murphy won him the NSW and Queensland premiers’ literary awards for best play in 2007 and his 2015 screen adaptation won him an Awgie award for the best writing in a feature film – adapted, as well as best script/screenplay.

Before the open rehearsal on Monday, Murphy told guests what a privilege it had been for him to adapt the memoir, which had been seen around Australia and as far afield as in London’s West End, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, NZ and even in Florence.

After speaking of the support that he had received as a teen writer in his native Queanbeyan, he said it was no surprise to him that people everywhere had responded so warmly.

Conigrave, he said, had “perfect recall”, which had given a sense of connection to a timeless story.

“Even in South America, people will find the connection,” Murphy said.

While studying at NIDA, the National Institute of Dramatic Art, some people told him that the real-life Conigrave was could be difficult and that, to Murphy, was perfectly obvious, but it did not detract from the power of his frank exploration of the relationship with Caleo.

Even better, Conigrave had a great sense of fun and the ridiculous which Murphy was able to exploit to dramatic effect, as the often-hilarious rehearsal showed. There’s not even a whiff of self-pity or preaching.

Director West has assembled very strong cast of seasoned players in Joel Horwood, Lewis McDonald, Joe Dinn, Amy Kowalczuk, Tracy Noble and Grayson Woodham, with Alex Hoskinson stepping into rehearsals in McDonald’s momentary absence.

What we saw on Monday in rehearsal included schoolroom encounters between the two boys and their classmates and familial scenes faced on the real-life experiences of the boys growing up in Melbourne, but omitted the tragic parts – it  is no secret that both Caleo and Conigrave eventually succumbed to AIDS-related complications during the era of an earlier pandemic.

Murphy will be back for the season finale on April 1 – that’s another session I’d book into.

“Holding The Man,” ACT Hub, Kingston, March 22 (preview) to April 1.