"This isn’t Heartstopper, but..."
Inspired by the writing of clinical psychologist Alan Downs in his book, The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World, Broken Boys dissects the bully-to-lover TV trope and meditates on the impact of toxic masculinity on the modern gay relationship.
Set somewhere in the UK, two men – Tom and Michael – recount their ill-fated love story to an ominous third person. They couldn’t be more different: Tom just wants to be seen as a man, whilst Michael wants men to see him as anything but. From their days in school, through to college nights, a global pandemic and one fateful day in 2029, these boys grapple for connection whilst bearing the weight of the gender they were assigned at birth.
Broken Boys explores the themes of identity, boyhood and binaries, mental health and queer love. It asks: in a world where men are taught not to show emotion, how do gay men fall in love?
The course of true love never did run smooth, especially for these boys.