It’s never easy being a teenager. There’s awkward PE uniforms, acne breakouts the day before formal, mountains of homework, and of course your parents. The challenges of high school are not something easily forgotten, a fact made obvious by the abundance of books, movies, and TV shows on the topic written by adults. Regardless of your generation, there’s no denying it: being a teenager sucks. But the thing that can really make or break your high school years? The thing that can be either the best or the worst part of being a teenager? Other teenagers.

Declan Greene’s Moth was first performed in Melbourne in 2010, but has now been revived as part of Theatrework’s main stage programming for 2023. The show follows Sebastian (Adam Noviello) and Claryssa (Lucy Ansell), two teenage outcasts struggling to survive the high school system. Seemingly more friends by necessity than actual friends, Sebastian and Claryssa tell the audience their story over the course of 75mins, describing their encounters with school bullies, their struggles with mental health, and most importantly their tumultuous relationship with each other. Make no mistake, Sebastian and Claryssa are difficult characters. They’re moody and frustrating, annoying even to each other. But that’s what makes them great, they’re depicted not as innocent victims but as flawed individuals who’ve been dealt difficult hands in life.

Two-hander productions demand a lot from their performers. They’ve got to be able to play a variety of characters, keep the audience’s attention, give 100% without a single break. After seeing the show however, I can think of no two actors more up to this task than Noviello and Ansell, who demonstrate a skilful balance of pathos and comedy in their respective roles.

Niklas Pajanti’s stunning lighting design however competes with Noviello and Ansell for star of the show, utilising thick haze and a variety of lights to transport the audience from the theatre space into the harsh reality that our two teenage protagonists inhabit. It might be noted for those who are more photo-sensitive that some lighting choices veer into fully blinding, but thankfully these moments are few and fleeting. Considered as a whole, Pajanti has created one of the most dynamic lighting designs I’ve seen in recent memory on the Melbourne theatre scene.

Alternatively, the set design is dark and minimalistic, and it’s often easy for such a small cast to be swallowed by a stage this large. However, Briony Dunn’s brilliant direction overcomes these challenges, encouraging the actors to use the entire length (and even the height at times) of the stage. When combined with Ansell and Noviello’s vibrant stage presence and exaggerated gestures, Dunn has ensured the performances are what stand out here.

These days stories about misfit teens struggling to fit in feel like a cliché, with every second Netflix original being a PG-rated story centring an attractive 20-something actor as a self-described high school “loser”. With this in mind, it can be easy to read Moth’s story outline and prepare yourself for a relatively tired narrative.

But thankfully Moth is not that story. Instead the play pulls no punches in its depiction of high school experience, portraying uncomfortable, violent, and genuinely disturbing experiences that aren’t often seen in the overly sanitised stories of high school shown today. While this may be attributed to the more creative free reign theatre has compared to a lot of digital media, it’s worth noting that even for theatre Moth displays bravery in the rawness of its content, confronting the audience with characters and events that society and storytelling often leaves behind. This is exactly what makes this play just as relevant now as it was thirteen years ago. The struggles of being a teenager really are universal and in a world increasingly fuelled by hate and violence it can be easy for young people to be swept up in that cycle. Moth is therefore a timely reminder of the power of kindness, the importance of friendship, and the loneliness of youth, serving as both a commiseration to current teens and a catharsis for those who once were.

Moth is showing at Theatre Works until 3 June. You can book tickets here.