Troy Roger’s debut play, Drug Baby, coming to Cube 37 on October 11 is a tour de force testament to the power of art to triumph over adversity. This one man, one-hour performance features powerful storytelling, spoken word poetry and song. It’s an auto-biographical odyssey through a life most people couldn’t imagine, yet Troy brings a profound humanity and levity.
Raised in Frankston, Troy and his older brother, Kelvin, were witness to things they should never have seen. “My first childhood memory, around four years old, is of my parents driving to the chemist to buy clean needles, then driving to pick up heroin. I remember them putting it on the spoon, lighting it and injecting while we were in the car. Mum said they shouldn’t be doing it. Dad said we wouldn’t remember.”
It wasn’t just drugs that Troy and Kelvin had to cope with, it was the constant threat of violence. “Dad had lots of aggression. Chaos and violence were common in my house. I did not feel safe at home. I was often afraid. Up until a certain age, it all feels normal. I didn’t even consider it.
Then I started going for sleepovers with friends. I remember the love of my friends’ parents and eating good food. I did feel loved and cared for in some ways at home. Sometimes we had fun underneath the chaos, but Dad’s violence outweighed it.”
Toys and video games were outlets. The boys lived up the street from the George Pentland Botanical Gardens and used to go there. They had lots of street play in the neighbourhood. There was some childhood normality with sporting groups and trips to the beach.
Neighbours and school were safe havens. Troy loved PE, art, and maths, but the real highlight was participating in the annual school production. Troy had always dreamed of becoming an actor and comedian. He remembers doing acting courses with his brother at Cube 37 so returning there with his own play is particularly sweet.
Image Credit: Frankie The Creative, Adelaide Event Photographer
Child Protective Services intervened when the boys were in Years 5 and 6. They went to live with their grandmother in Bonbeach. Troy recalls that she was honoured to step in. For high school, they commuted to Frankston High. Troy’s Nan died when he was 17. Then, Troy had his own struggles with drugs, alcohol and bad company, but he pulled himself together.
He moved in with his aunt and completed his VCE. He went on to do a Diploma of Youth Work at Holmsglen TAFE and took a course in drug and alcohol dependence. Troy had been volunteering with Mirabel Foundation, an organization that helps children who have been orphaned or abandoned due to parents’ illicit drug use. He started a successful career in youth work. It was a full circle moment because Mirabel had provided support, excursions and respite when he was a boy.
Troy moved from his aunt’s home into a share house. One of his roommates was into hip hop and rap. At 28, Troy started performing his poetry and sharing his experiences. He moved to Bellingen, NSW where his creativity blossomed. He tried painting, acting, singing and taught himself the ukulele.
In September 2023, Troy decided to do a show about his life. It was up and running in six months. The show has been cathartic. Doing lived experience public speaking with Mirabel made the process easier because he had already ‘done the work’. This show is all about triumph. Troy enjoys being raw and open. “It’s the light at the end of the tunnel doing this work.”
Troy spent most of his childhood in chaos. His challenges could have been catastrophic, instead, he leveraged that trauma to make art. His bravery has helped other people who also grew up traumatized to feel seen, heard and healed. Drug Baby is a wild, inspired, honest and darkly funny insight into growing up with parents who were out of control.
The show is earning rave reviews. Troy has an agent in Sydney. He’s branching out in all creative directions. He took a men’s burlesque course and will be performing in December. Now that the chrysalis has cracked open, there is no stopping Troy. He says it took a long time for him to match his confidence to his drive, but now he says, “I want to do it all.”
See Troy’s extraordinary play, Drug Baby, at Frankston Art Centre’s Cube 37 on Sunday, October 11 at 7. It’s unlike anything else and well worth the journey.
ANDREA LOUISE THOMAS