“It was kind of a perfect storm,” Bradshaw laughs. “I’d been reading this essay by Susan Stryker about trans monstrosity – the idea that a ‘natural’, unchanged body is somehow superior to one that’s been altered – and at the same time, I was watching a lot of Cronenberg.” They mention 'The Fly' with the fondness of someone talking about an old friend. “All these dots started connecting – Frankenstein’s monster, trans bodies, the way we challenge what people expect bodies to be. It just. . . Clicked. And I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to do that on stage?”
'Monstrous' is that cool, in the most chaotic, slippery way. The show follows John, the Director of Wellbeing and Inclusion at RISE Community Services, whose life unravels after a week-long office entanglement with Chris, a trans IT worker. What starts as flirtation turns into something stranger, darker, and – depending on how you feel about workplace policy – deeply inappropriate.
But the play’s roots go beyond scandal. “I wanted to make trans stories that aren’t about coming out, transitioning, or being misgendered,” Bradshaw says. “I’m sick of those stories. I wanted to make something about trans people who are messy, complicated, and not necessarily good people. Like, what if the trans character just. . . Sucked as a person? That felt exciting to me.”
The show’s development, co-created with cast members Zev Aviv and Byron Davis, moved from that seed into a study of intimacy and transformation. “It became this relationship between a trans person and a cis man, and the effects they have on one another,” they explain. “It’s not sanitised or pleasant or nice – and that’s exactly how I like it.”
Bradshaw’s academic side runs just as deep. They’re currently completing a PhD in Trans Theatre at UNSW, studying how trans-led teams create differently. “It’s been really fun,” they say. “Trans people making theatre together – it’s compassionate, collaborative, and a little bit chaotic. There’s this shared understanding, this language of ‘yeah, we get it.’ You don’t have to explain yourself all the time. You just make the work.”
That sense of freedom pulses through 'Monstrous'. The rehearsal room was, by Bradshaw’s account, full of laughter. “The show’s dark and disturbing, sure, but we didn’t want to lose the audience completely. Humour lets us guide them through the horror. It makes them feel safe enough to sit in the uncomfortable parts. And it’s fun! A lot of the jokes came out of improv where we’d just go, ‘That’s insane, keep it’. Joy has been a huge part of this process.”
Still, Bradshaw doesn’t sugarcoat it. “The show’s not for everyone,” they admit. “Some people will find it disturbing – and that’s fine. It’s for trans people, first and always. I want them to feel represented in ways they haven’t before. I’m not making concessions for anyone.”
The title 'Monstrous' lands like a reclamation – of identity, of desire, of power. “There’s this notion that bodies are fixed, but they’re not,” Bradshaw says. “Being trans means you’ve already crossed that line once. It opens you up to the idea that nothing is fixed. You can transgress anything.”
And in true office-horror fashion, there’s a moral buried in the mayhem. “I’ve been working a corporate job,” they laugh, “so yeah, a lot of that world made its way in. The jargon, the fake wellness culture. The tagline – ‘why you really, really shouldn’t f... your coworkers’ – it’s cheeky, but it’s also about power. About how easily it shifts.”
So what does Bradshaw want audiences to feel when they leave? They don’t hesitate. “Gripped.”
'Monstrous' plays KXT On Broadway (Sydney) 31 October-15 November.
