Dear Young Monster

Image: James Klugg

Dear Young Monster was Pete MacHale’s debut show: emotionally rich, politically resonant, and formally confident - but entering a crowded theatre landscape where debut work, studio productions, and trans-led stories are often sidelined or misunderstood.

Key challenges:

  • Risk of the show being framed as “niche” or issue-led rather than universal

  • Limited time and attention from reviewers in a saturated cultural calendar directly competing with major theatre events.

  • Social content existed, but lacked strategic framing and consistency

  • A need to protect the integrity of a deeply personal story while still driving audiences

At this stage, the show had strong creative foundations but required clear positioning, confident messaging, and trusted mediation with press and audiences.

A young man with dark hair sitting on a bench or couch, looking to his right, wearing a green jacket with a hoodie and a graphic T-shirt, with a dark background and blue lighting on the wall.
A young man standing on stage with crossing arms in front of yellow curtains, promotional text overlay for a theatrical event detailing date, time, and review ratings.

how did we do it

We delivered a joined-up marketing and PR approach designed to translate the emotional power of the work into cultural visibility—without flattening or sanitising it.

Our work included:

  • Developing an overarching campaign strategy rooted in coming-of-age, recognition, and becoming

  • Liaising directly with reviewers and cultural editors to contextualise the work on its own artistic terms

  • PR outreach aligned with studio theatre, experimental performance, and queer cultural coverage

  • Editing and refining social media content to sharpen tone, clarity, and emotional pull

  • Shaping copy that balanced wit, rage, vulnerability, and hope.

Dear Young Monster was positioned as a universal coming-of-age story, not a marginal one

Reviewers engaged with the show’s craft, humour, and emotional intelligence an social content clearly communicated the heart of the show, inviting identification rather than instruction

The campaign helped the show cut through as urgent, tender, and culturally necessary theatre - without compromising the care or complexity of its storytelling.