A bold new queer Australian play by trans playwright Ben MacEllen, The Placeholder, explores feminism, friendship, and chosen family this Midsumma.
“We hear a lot of stuff about trans people,” playwright Ben MacEllen told QNews.
“And you think if only you knew one, I bet you’d feel differently.”
“This play is about meeting a trans person and feeling differently.”
How is love tested when those closest to us change in ways we never expected?
That is what MacEllen explores in The Placeholder, a funny, sharp, and deeply human play.
“In a regional town, grief holds a group of women together after the death of Barb,” the show synopsis reads.
“When one of their own announces his transition, the circle begins to fracture.”
“Loyalties splinter, old wounds reopen, and the meaning of identity and belonging is fiercely contested.”
“From conception, I’ve been working on this play for three and a half years,” MacEllen told QNews.
“The idea formed when I started the Midsumma Pathways program.”
“People were interested in the idea and that it was something different to what they had seen onstage.”
As a disabled artist with fifty-five years of experience, MacEllen was struggling to manage the physical needs of his one-man show, Transmansplaining.
Playwriting was something he could do in his own time, and Midsumma Pathways provided guidance and support.
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‘My take on an Australian Steel Magnolias’
Over the past 4 years, Midsumma Festival has supported MacEllen from ideation through to creative development and now into new independent production.
The nine-month mentorship and workshop program for LGBTQIA+ artists with disabilities saw him mentored by acclaimed actor, playwright, and screenwriter Kate Mulvany OAM.
“Having Kate as my mentor was the best. I could not be happier to have somebody like her guide me.” MacEllen said.
“She’s a partner in creativity. She wants new, creative, bold Australian works, and as soon as she heard about the idea of The Placeholder, we took off from there.”
The idea for the play came to MacEllen while watching community theatre in Bendigo.
“There are some really good middle-aged women actors, and I wanted to see them play some juicy roles,” MacEllen said.
“When I set myself the task of making my take on an Australian Steel Magnolias, I had my jumping off point.”
“I started creating a story where a group of women who are friends, who have their own rhythm.
“Suddenly have to deal with the idea of one of them transitioning from female to male.
“What sort of issues would come up? And what sort of issues did I face when I was transitioning with my friends?”
Image: by Meagan HardingSource: Midsumma.org.au
What is chosen family?
“What is it about a woman that makes them feel like a woman?” MacEllen said, “Is it having breasts in this particular story?”
In the play, the group of friends come together to commemorate one of their own who died of breast cancer.
Nick tells the group that he’s transitioning from female to male.
Breasts are the one thing he doesn’t want – but how does the group handle that?
“There are at least two characters in the play who are very drawn from two women in my life who were very supportive when I transitioned,”
“One pre-transition, who never got to see me be Ben, but loved me unconditionally,” MacEllen said.
“The other was very much a part of my transition, who helped me navigate appointments, surgury and everything that came after.”
We caught up with MacEllen in the final weeks of rehearsal, who admitted this was the hardest part of the process.
“I thought the edits and the cuts were the hardest thing, but handing over my baby and saying you walk with it has been a lot,” MacEllen said.
“I’ve got the most incredible creative team, and I’m so thrilled watching them at even in rehearsal.
“The way they’re bringing these characters to life and connecting with them, and also with parts of my history, has been wonderful to see.”
‘This is not a play telling you how you should be’
MacEllen hopes the play will tug on audiences’ heartstrings, but is really hoping it “opens conversations.”
“This is not a play about preaching or telling you how you should be,” he said.
“I hope that audiences, particularly those who perhaps don’t have a lot of experience with knowing trans and gender diverse people, walk away being able to have conversations with their friends and their families.”
Directed by award-winning director Kitan Petkovski, The Placeholder is a fearless and emotionally charged work.
It premieres at fortyfivedownstairs from January 27 and must end February 8 2026.
The performance on Tuesday, February 3, features a post-show Q&A with creatives.
This project is proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
Find out more and get your tickets here.
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