Canon Aces 206/?: Douglas 'Ca$h' Piggott (Will McDonald) in Heartbreak High season 3 [3x3 The Root Room to 3x4 A Constution for Cucking ](2026) + ace/open relationship
As an Aussie who's grown up in very different circumstances to the kids in heartbreak high, I just wanted to point out that Cash's character is generally someone kids are told to avoid and you make physical space between you and the eashays when any are around. So for his character to be explored in depth as someone who's a victim of their circumstances and has deeper issues than just "oh he's a bad dude" is super amazing to see.
If you told me at the beginning of heartbreak high that amongst all the incredible multifaceted characters my favourite would be the fucking eshay?? THE ESHAY??
i just saw the sydney theatre company’s production of the talented mr ripley starring will mcdonald and it was absolutely captivating.
there really is something about good acting that turns ca$h from heartbreak high into a deranged obsessed queer !! so these are my thoughts, broken down by element:
LIGHTING
the lighting of this was absolutely gorgeous. somehow it managed to very believably transport me all the way from the cathedrals of rome to the beaches of italy to the canals of venice, all through lighting. the way they managed to make it seem like light was reflecting off the cathedrals in rome, the way that they transformed a luxurious hotel room into a dingy motel, it really was very admirable and contributed considerably to my enjoyment of the play.
STAGING
in a similar vein, the staging was really fantastic and contributed greatly to how immersed i felt. the way that they made it feel like a believable beach through the patterns on the floor, but also used those patterns later to make it seem like they were in a jazz club, and a hotel room after that. their use of a wall and a door at the back of the stage, which moved forward in order to portray ripley’s feelings of claustrophobia and being closed in on, was multipurpose and served it’s purpose fantastically well. they employed far stage left as dickie’s living room, the full stage for ripley’s hotel room, and the centre of the room for their rome trip, which really made every scene feel like a big deal, and also a new, interesting thing every time.
VOICE/ACCENT
this was an australian production, but every actor was speaking with an american accent. the only actor in this i know is will mcdonald, who i know is australian, and i’m not sure if the others are too, but good christ, their accents were impeccable. not a single slip, not a single moment where i thought it felt too forced or put-on. the actor playing dickie sounded so much like pedro pascal it momentarily took me out of it, but he made up for it with the way he oozed charm and entitlement simply through his voice. i had great appreciation for the way will mcdonald changed his voice when impersonating dickie, and how he manipulated his inflection when mocking characters like dickie’s father.
PHYSICALITY
i was really impressed with the physicality of everyone in the cast, but particularly will mcdonald. this beautiful, long limbed man toed the line perfectly between standing like the standing man emoji and throwing himself around the stage seemingly at random. this really contributed to ripley’s existence as a real person and the believability of his character, but also in establishing just how demented he truly is. an additional hats off to the actor playing dickie, both for portraying the characters casual ease so well, and for making his physicality very distinct so that when ripley takes on the role of dickie, the emulation and change in body language is distinct.
GAYNESS [+TENSION]
probably not a heading as valid as the others but holy christ this play built tension so WELL. there’s a moment where ripley and dickey are in the car together, dickey asleep on ripley, and ripley is slowly moving his hand over dickey’s, their faces right close together, and then dickey wakes up and ripley turns into him, and you think they’re about to kiss, and it is THE MOST TENSE THING I HAVE SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. soon after that, they stand so exceptionally close to each other that i could have sworn their noses were touching, and the tension was actually palpable. and then, they’re dancing together, outlandishly and very drunkenly, and dickie grabs ripley by the face and holds their foreheads together, and i have to say it is better than sex scenes i’ve seen. i don’t know what these actors are like in real life, what their relationship is or their sexualities are or their perspectives on the characters or their relationships, but holy FUCK, they really don’t make toxic yaoi like this anymore.
anyway!!!! if you’re in sydney i would totally say go see it. i saw it tonight [22.08.2025] which was the last night of previews, so they should have lots of open tickets.
i love live theatre, i love gay men in toxic situations, i love will mcdonald, i love mr ripley, I LOVE LIVE THEATRE.
