An impossible to-do list puts Rebekah Carton to the test in Everything, Now! at Melbourne Fringe

How much can one person possibly get done in an hour? In Everything, Now!, the answer is apparently: everything. Created and performed by award-winning theatre maker Rebekah Carton and directed by George Lazaris, the new work throws Carton into a relentless sixty-minute race against the clock, armed with an impossible list of tasks and increasingly little chance of getting through them all. As interruptions pile up and priorities constantly shift, the carefully constructed system begins to unravel, turning everyday busyness into something far more physical, chaotic and absurd. We managed to pin Carton and Lazaris down to ask how they came up with such an ambitious task list, and whether anyone can really do it all.
 
Tell us about Everything, Now! What exactly is going on?
George Lazaris: Everything!
Rebekah Carton: Right now! 
GL: I feel overwhelmed just thinking about it.
RC: It’s almost like I’m doing every task on my list-
GL: That’s ever been on your list.
RC: Everything that anybody’s ever asked of me and I’ll be like "I’ll do that later. I’ll do it in a little bit.:"
GL: Today’s the day.
RC: Right now. In front of an audience. At Fringe.

What inspired you to explore modern busyness and our obsession with productivity?
RC: We can’t turn off.
GL: We never used to be this connected. Take me back to when we just had to deal with email.
RC: At a desk in the corner of your living room. A shrine of the computer.
GL: We were never designed to be this connected, there was this study around how much brain space things take up and it turns out that if you have an unfinished task, it doesn’t leave your brain until it’s completed. You’ll remember the detail of the unfinished task.
RC: And so anything you leave unfinished will just be rattling around in your head.
GL: I don’t know about you, but I have like twenty unanswered messages on my phone right now sitting and waiting for me to have ten minutes to actually respond. That’s not even talking about my laundry basket and the vacuuming I need to find time for.
RC: Take clothes to the op shop, weed the garden…
GL: When the idea’s too big to explain in words, it’s time to make a show.

The show follows one performer trying to complete an impossible list of tasks in 60 minutes. How do you balance the comedy with the darker side of what you're experiencing?
RC: Comedy is how I grapple with the dark stuff. Every time I try to make something funny or silly or comic, I end up unearthing these deep dark facets of what it means to be human.
GL: Tragedy and comedy are the same, comedy’s just done faster.
RC: We’re also aiming for laughs of recognition, I love when someone’s like "oh my god, me too".
GL: I also have a drawer of tupperware I have to organise.
RC: I also have to organise my dinners for the week while checking in with my friends while keeping my blood pressure down and exercising.
GL: It’s silly and fun, but it’s the way the world works today.

Is there a fair amount of improvising as you're attempting to accomplish all these tasks each night?
RC: Hell yes.
GL: The show’s randomised every night.
RC: No two performances will ever be the same.
GL: We’ve put together an enormous bank of tasks to complete, more than we could ever do at a time, so we don’t know what’s coming.
RC: And then at some points I might be doing multiple tasks at once.
GL: The chaos is in the combos.
RC: It’s going to be silly messy fun, with structure to guide us through.

Why do you think we're so bad at accepting that we can't do everything?
RC: I think we’re constantly being shown these social media versions of people who are capable and can do everything and be everything and are perfect and curated, and I feel like I should be able to do that too.
GL: And it’s all fake.
RC: These people are full of shit! But there’s still that desire to be perfect and efficient while being camera ready with perfect hair.
GL: And the feed itself is toxic. It’s designed to make you keep engaging which means that when you’re comparing your life to someone, it’s 2am and you’re scrolling through everything they’ve ever posted, it’s done what it’s been designed to do.
RC: They’re doing better than me. They’re doing it right. I could be having the best week of my life, but if they’re a little better at one thing I want to keep looking. And it doesn’t feel good.
GL: I was at a party recently and talking about how I have a time limit on Instagram and three other people pulled out their phones to show me they also have the time limit on Instagram and they’d all already hit the limit.
RC: It’s constant, it’s addictive and it feels like there’s no way out.
GL: Idea too big again.
RC: Time to make a show!

FRINGE FIVE FAST ONES (by Rebekah Carton)

1. My pre-show ritual is a quick jog whilst lip trilling whilst shaking my hands.
2. If a song was to play each time I entered a room, it would be "Lady Grinning Soul" by David Bowie. For the delicious grandeur and completely unjustified sense that my every entrance needs a cinematic score. Plus, it’s a bloody great song (and incredibly underrated).
3. If I could instantly become amazing at one skill, it would be asking for help. Disgusting.
4. If I were forced to eat one meal for the rest of my life, it would be
... I hate this question because the thought of choosing one food makes me want to cry. But probably Ottolenghi's Broccoli Pasta. But know that it took me weeks to get here and I'm still not at peace with it.
5. The hill I will die on is if you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. If you’re late, have an anxiety attack.

SHOW DETAILS 

Venue: The Motley Wherehaus, 432 Queen St, Melbourne
Season: 6 - 11 October | 7.50pm

Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $35 Full | $25 Conc | $26.5 Hump Day Wednesday
Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Images credit: Matto Lucas