Scandalous Boy at Open Space Arts

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...Australian playwright David Atfield's 2014 play, Scandalous Boy, attempts (and largely succeeds) at animating the flesh-and-blood person behind the marble. Literally: the conceit is that a statue of the young man has come to life to tell us the truth about his short but storied life. Staged by Benjamin Mills in its U.S. premiere at tiny Open Space Arts, the piece traces Antinous's history (he's Greek, not Roman, he reminds us early on), from his childhood in the ancient region of Bithynia (now part of Turkey), where his mother grooms him to become an eromenus (lover of an older man), to his evolving relationship with Hadrian."

Windy City Times - Recommended

"...Scandalous Boy has all the trappings of a Pride Month play-disco, innuendo, snarky comedy-but it ultimately is an effective interrogation of the power dynamics at the heart of any relationship. It is worth seeing."

Around The Town Chicago - Recommended

"...Playwright David Atfield’s Scandalous Boy is principally the true story of the young Antinous and Emperor Hadrian, the most recognizable homosexual couple in Roman history. It is said that about 2,000 sculptures were produced by the emperor in his grief following Antinous’ untimely death. In famous museum collections throughout the world, more images of Antinous have survived than any figure from classical antiquity, with the exception of Augustus and Hadrian himself. This handsome Greek youth embodies the aesthetics of neoclassicism and romanticism, and has become an icon of male homosexuality."

Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended

"...When the lights come up on Director Benjamin Mills' production of SCANDALOUS BOY, we find what we at first think is a handsome, totally naked young man assuming a classical pose. He represents the likeness of one of hundreds of marble statues from antiquity of a man named Antinous. He's known as the beloved sexual companion of Roman Emperor Hadrian, a ruler known particularly for his strong border, called Hadrian's Wall. Then we realize that the attractive actor isn't completely naked but simply clad in a flesh-colored dance belt. And, I might add, he wears it rather well."

Buzz Center Stage - Highly Recommended

"...SCANDALOUS BOY was narrated by one of those 117 surviving sculptures: the curtain rises (metaphorically; there's no curtain at Open Space Arts) on a gorgeous man/boy standing posed artistically and clothed in naught but a dance belt. We're still taking in this marvelous spectacle when OMG! It comes to life! And begins to tell us his story."