A Completely Improvised Zombie Apocalypse throws Bren Carruthers into mayhem at Melbourne Fringe

Zombies have never been especially interested in following the rules, and neither has improvisation. Put the two together and you have a theatrical experiment where anything can happen, including who survives the night. A Completely Improvised Zombie Apocalypse takes the familiar conventions of the zombie genre and hands them over to a rotating cast of improvisers, with the audience helping determine where the story goes.

With humans being indispensable to any zombie production, it is only natural that this one has a large cast of victims. We managed to get hold of one of them, Bren Carruthers, while they are still human, and picked their brain on our obsession with zombies and what happens when you throw a group of improvisers into the apocalypse.

Given the challenge of surviving, let alone depicting, a zombie apocalypse, I was curious how Bren rates their own survival skills. "I’m only one member of a cast of nearly a dozen, but I don’t think any of us would be likely to survive!" they laugh. "But I think good zombie narratives aren’t about surviving, they’re about the attempt to survive, and what arises in the meantime. They’re a unique vessel for exploring parts of the human experience, society, and what happens when the normal rules no longer matter."

Evil Dead the Musical review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Chapel Off Chapel

You just can't keep a good Deadite down. It's been 45 years since The Evil Dead was unleashed on cinema goers. In that time, we've had sequels, reboots and reimaginings, including a musical that was first staged in 2003. And now this cult classic has made its way to Australia, and what a ride it is. With Book and Lyrics by George Reinblatt, Evil Dead the Musical leans all the way into the madness, chainsaw in hand, splattering its way through the source material with a knowing wink, buckets of blood (literally), and enough self-awareness to make the whole thing horrifically brilliant.

Five college students: the hero, his best-friend, his girlfriend, his sister and ... Shelly, decide to spend the week in an abandoned cabin in the woods with no one knowing where they are. What could go wrong, they knowingly ask. Apart from freeing a demonic force after reciting a few ill-advised incantations, and *spoiler* watching your friends lose their souls and having to brutally kill them.

Harley Dasey is facing demons and songs in Evil Dead the Musical | Melbourne International Comedy Festival |Chapel Off Chapel

Blood, chainsaws, and demonic mayhem have never sounded so infectious. Evil Dead: The Musical turns the cult horror franchise into a high-energy, over-the-top stage spectacle. In this whirlwind of gore, comedy, and camp, we spoke with Harley Dasey as he prepares to step into the legendary shoes of Ash, bringing the chainsaw-wielding hero to life for a new generation of terrified - and thoroughly entertained - audiences.

While initially not fan of the Evil Dead franchise, it didn't take long for Dasey to succumb to the allure of all that is ancient and evil. "I didn’t even know what The Evil Dead was besides the title, but I am absolutely hooked now," he tells me. "I don’t have a particular moment where I had an epiphany that this was the show for me, but I do remember reading the script, listening to the music, watching clips from the movies and other productions on YouTube and thinking 'this is ridiculous… I love it'. The musical is certainly wild, and that is my favourite kind of show. Having now watched the films and immersed myself deeper in the world of the Evil Dead, I couldn't be more excited."

The Haunting of Spook Mansion (by ghosts) review | Chapel Off Chapel

The Haunting of Spook Mansion (by ghosts) opens with a cheeky premise, a sceptical professor, a believer, and a cash reward big enough to convince anyone to spend a night in a purportedly cursed mansion. It promises chills, chuckles and a full tour of every haunted house trope you can think of, and for a while it delivers exactly that. But as the story progresses, the humour sometimes trips over its own hair-raising ambitions.
 
The play opens at a reading for A Bullshittery of Ghosts, the latest book by Professor Adrian Chambers, the Head of a University Paranormal Disproval Department. There he meets Beth, a fan of Chambers' and the supernatural who challenges him to stay overnight in Spook Mansion and pocket five hundred thousand dollars for his trouble. Adrian barely pauses to breathe before accepting, and the slumber party kicks off.

Slay review | Theatre Works

Devised by Sarah Iman, Steph Lee, Raven Rogers-Wright, Jackie van Lierop, Anita Mei La Terra, and Louisa Cusumano, Slay is a sharp-witted, politically charged horror comedy. When a young woman is brutally murdered, four lesbians become prime suspects. As they race to uncover the killer, they must also contend with the growing chaos of radical group SLAM (Society of Lesbians Against Men) and its dangerous manifesto, which is spreading like wildfire.

Many of the creatives take on multiple roles on and off stage, creating a strong awareness of cohesion as they work seamlessly toward a shared vision. While some characters, as individuals, lean into stereotypes or are not as compelling as others, the group scene dynamics keep the energy fresh. The natural dialogue allows pop culture references, like lesbian icon Sue Sylvester from Glee, Julia Gillard's misogyny speech, and Marty Sheargold’s recent AFLW comments, to drop in effortlessly. The humour is well-balanced within the show’s absurd world, where SLAM’s ultimate goal is to cap the cis male population at 10%.

Our Monster's Name is Jerry review | Theatre Works

When Maud's aunt passes away suddenly, she is surprised to learn that the house in which she lived in has been passed on to her. As Maud and their partner Lou move in and start to make a home - and family - for themselves, random noises, flickering lights and eerie visions begin to become far too common as deeply buried secrets eventually come to the surface. Written by Amy May Nunn, Our Monster's Name is Jerry is a queer, gothic horror story that looks at the depths we go to keep our anxieties at bay.

Em Jevons and Laura Jane Turner are great as Lou and Maud. They convincingly portray two people in a long-term relationship who know each other intimately and have a shared history. Jevons is particularly noteworthy as the concerned and supportive partner but who also finds themselves being drawn into this psychological and physical nightmare. Alanah Guiry's direction adds lots of flowing and gentle movements in the actors' actions that heightens the conflict and mystery taking place, especially at its most terrifying.

A Scary Thing Happened By The CAMPFIRE review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Where do men go to become better men? Camping of course. In circus show A Scary Thing Happened By The CAMPFIRE, two mates go bush not knowing they are being stalked by a forest dwelling creature. Escaping the beast proves more difficult than it sounds, as it may involve them talking to each other about ... their feelings.

The show is co-created by Alonso Pineda, Samuel Boyd, Louis Green and Griffin Hooper, with Pineda and Boyd serving as directors and Green and Hooper as performers. As circus, it is very entertaining and recent NICA graduates Green and Hooper display great skill in their paired acrobatics as well as their solo routines. There are a few wobbles here and there, but seeing them work through them and eventually execute them is where the excitement of circus comes from.

The idea of two men going camping and having to deal with their emotions and talk to each other through horror circus is an extremely interesting one but unfortunately this is where the show misses the mark. A stronger narrative is needed to bring this together as it is too abstract and vague in its current form, especially the conclusion which is quite muddled and confusing as to how we've reached this ending.

Rakali review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

A seachange is said to be an effective way to reassess what you value most in life and to gain new perspectives. But what about a riverchange? For Emma, Kevin and their four-month-old baby, it could be a devastating decision. On the surface, Australian gothic horror Rakali depicts a couple being terrorised by a water rat intent on eating their baby, but dive deeper and it's a sharp commentary on parenthood and family.

Alex Duncan's script may live in the realms of absurdity but it firmly establishes its world early on and we can accept this wild river-ride. We are kept guessing the entire time if the baby will be eaten whenever the rakali is nearby. Duncan fuses horror, comedy and drama into a tight 60 minutes as we learn about the conflicts and struggles that Emma and Kevin are facing externally and internally.

Lily Fish on eating babies in Rakali, a new Australian Gothic houseboat horror (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

When a young couple move into a houseboat in Tasmania's Huon River to raise their baby, the last thing they expect is to be terrorised by a rakali(water-rat). With an incredibly talented team behind the production, Rakali is a new Australian Gothic neo-fable written by Alex Duncan (Five Bedrooms), directed by Alice Darling (The Fence) and starring Lily Fish, John Shearman, and Veronica Thomas. We caught up with the rakali herself, Fish, about taking on this role and how such a group of creatives came together for this Melbourne Fringe Festival show.

"Alex and I had worked together a couple of times in the past and we realised that we were interested in seeing the same sort of theatre: narrative drama that zips along, a thrilling storyline and characters that really attack each other," Fish tells me. "One day I was saying that I wished there was more work like that at the Fringe Festival and he said ‘why don’t I write you one?’ and then, he did it!"

"We’ve joked about it being like a cross between Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Wolf Creek. The dialogue is pacy, sometimes quite funny, and at other times awful in the most delightful way for an audience with super recognisable toxic relationship dynamics," she says. "And of course the concept is totally bananas. A couple living on a houseboat with their baby, and I play a shape shifting Nick Cave-esque water rat that wants to eat the baby. Who comes up with an idea like that?! When Alex pitched it to me I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was the most brilliant, fun, loaded idea ever. How could you say no to a proposal like that, so of course we had to make this.”

2:22 - A Ghost Story review

When Lauren and Ben visit their friends Sam and Jenny for dinner, the last thing they are expecting is to be witnesses to a supernatural event. Or are they? As the night approaches, the four friends delve deeper into the supernatural and the existence of something beyond death that will challenge all their beliefs. Written by Danny Robbins, 2:22: A Ghost Story takes a common domestic setting and turns it into a nightmare for our two couples. What happens when what should be the safest place in your world is the one causing you to be most afraid?

2:22: A Ghost Story comes with chills and thrills (and some screams) but only if your idea of having the hairs on your arm stand is brought on by plenty of jump scares, which are generally lazy and uninspiring. Ian Dickinson’s sound design largely consists of random screams and foxes fornicating that are repeated ad nauseam. The moments of tension are more successful when the concept of “less is more” is applied, such as when Ben recalls his past encounters with ghosts. The finale gives the show a spine-tingling send off, but it is directed rapidly and awkwardly by Matthew Dunster and diminishes the frightening revelation that has come to pass.

Mansion review

We’ve all heard things that go bump in the night, and the majority of the time it is simply our imagination. But what happens when those bumps turn into a never-ending nightmare? That’s what Mel Walker and her two children find themselves facing after they move home following the death of her husband and father to Levi and Rachel. Presented by Bass Fam Creative, this second installment in a trilogy of works focusing on love, Mansion is an immersive dance theatre horror experience that explores what it means to love, grieve and mourn.

This site specific work has sourced the perfect location for Mansion: Labassa Mansion in Caulfield. Built in the 1800s, the Victorian era mansion has had over 135 people call it home, and at one point it was divided up into flats and housed Hollywood’s first Australian silent film star. There are countless stories to be told, and not just from the living. The dead have plenty left to say and through dance and circus, the family encounter – and are terrorised by - its previous inhabitants. We are guided by the ground's Caretaker, who leads us from room to room in this winding and maze-like property as everything starts to unravel.

Stark and Dormy - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

It’s time for some fun fun fun at Fox’s Family Fun Park. There are plenty of animals to see and exciting rides to take in this small, charming town, as long as you can ignore the hungry alien that is devouring everything and everyone around it. Presented as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Bunk Puppets’ Stark and Dormy thrusts its audience into a science-fiction/horror storyline told almost entirely through astounding shadow puppetry.

While the puppetry is fascinating in its own right, what makes this show even more interesting is that we are able to witness the behind the scenes antics of puppeteers and actors James Pratt and Christian Bagin. Rather than placing a barrier under the screen, Bunk Puppets have left it unobstructed so that we can see all the puppets and props on the floor ready to be used. It is a rare glimpse in how these puppets are constructed and how they drastically change in appearance once they are held behind the screen. It’s quite incredible knowing what the alien creature is made from to then see its menacing form in action.

Top 10 Shows of 2017

Another year of some unforgettable theatre and live performances comes to an end, and what a year it has been, managing to get to a respectable 200 shows. Not quite sure how I stayed sane in doing that, but there you go. 
Naturally I kept a list of all the shows I saw and below I present my top ten of 2017. If I reviewed the show then a link to the review is also provided.
2018 is shaping out to be the time of innovative and exciting theatre, so make sure you go and see some of it. While it's nice to make a night out of seeing some big name performers and shows, remember to also support your independent theatre makers and venues where some shows can cost you as little as $15 per person.

Here is my list:

1. Angels In America
- review

Grant Cartwright and Dushan Philips. Photo Credit: Sarah Walker

What an epic seven-hour production this show was. Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize winning work, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes was performed at fortyfivedownstairs under Gary Abrahams' brilliant direction.
Abrahams brings together a remarkably talented ensemble of actors to tell this story, which despite being set in the American 80s still has extreme relevance and prevalence today regarding social stigma of homosexuality and AIDS.
Some of the strongest performances of the year were present here including those from Simon Cornfield, Grant Cartwright, Emily Goddard, Helen Morse and Dushan Philips, with the evocative sound and lighting providing greater insight into the minds and thoughts of the various characters.
Also, can't not mention how amazing that wooden four-poster bed was by how it was utilised and what it represented during the show. If there were an award for best use of a single prop, this would be the winner.
Put simply, Angels In America was gripping, powerful and affecting theatre at its best.

Top 10 shows of 2017 Melbourne Fringe Festival

And so ends my favourite time of the year: the Melbourne International Fringe Festival. I'm constantly amazed by how many quality shows are put on during this time that challenge, entertain and surprise me. While I juggle full-time work and part-time study, I always make sure to block out my calendar for Fringe. 
After seeing a mere 58 shows, my top ten shows are presented below. There are so many shows I wish I had been able to get to but the fates were against us and I promise to make it to your next one.
If the show was reviewed, you will find a link next to its name for more thoughts and opinions. 
Enjoy! 
Can't wait to see what 2018 brings!

1. Cactus and the Mime - review 

A Cactus Mascot and a wannabe Mime decide to re-enact their relationship in the style of a children's show. What follows is a hysterical story of love and growing up that ends in heartbreak and looks at what happens when you are unable to move on when tragedy strikes.

Roby Favretto and Caitlin Spears as Trevor and Mandy have created a story that immediately draws you in, and one that finds just as much truth and honesty as it does with its humour and laughs. As the jokes become more vicious and personal, we begin to understand that there is something much darker lying underneath all this, something that Trevor and Mandy will ultimately end up facing head on.

There is also a blurring of performance and real life, which raises the question of how much performing do we do in our own lives and when are we authentic?

It's this blurring of themes and genres that Cactus and the Mime takes big gambles but it makes the work so much more impressive because of it.

The Baby Farmer - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

What happens when those who are put into positions of care - like nurses and nannies - end up being the people who should fear the most? Presented by the The Laudanum Project, The Baby Farmer is storytelling at its most unsettling and grotesque with its exploration of infanticide - and a firm highlight at this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival. 

Set in London's East End in the 1870's, The Baby Farmer revolves around a mother and daughter, Winnifred Alcorn and Agatha May, who get caught up in the gruesome murders of a number of babies. What makes this story even more disturbing is that it is loosely based on fact, where in the late-Victorian era, women (baby farmers) would take custody of a baby or child in exchange for payment. One infamous baby farmer was Amelia Dyer who is regarded as one of the world's most prolific serial killers, said to be potentially responsible for up to 400 murders.

If that wasn't enough to creep you out, our storyteller, Alphonse Cheese-Probert, finishes the job. Dressed in tattered black clothes with a ghoulish appearance and eyes that take much courage to look into, he begins to relay the tale of Winnifred Alcorn. Nick Ravenswood's performance is flawless, with a magnificent transformation in speech, body language and movement. Each syllable of every word is carefully pronounced so as to create maximum tension and his silent pauses throughout give the audience just enough time for his vivid descriptions to sink in. His ability to capture an audience and retain their attention through nothing but his words is a sign of masterful storytelling.

The Baby Farmer - Melbourne Fringe Festival preview

Ghoulish, grotesque, unsettling and suspenseful. These are some of the words used in my review of The Laudanum Project's 2014 Melbourne Fringe Festival show, The Grand Guignol Automaton. Thankfully, these masters of horror storytelling are back this year with The Baby Farmer. Admittedly when I first read the title of the show I thought it was going to be a cute comedy piece but when I saw who was behind it, I went to a very dark place very quickly.

"I have to say that it’s extremely heartening to hear that just seeing our name can do that to you. Happiness gained through other peoples' discomfort is what we do best I suppose," Nick Ravenswood, the show's writer tells me. "The Baby Farmer is best described as a dark Victorian fable that is set against the backdrop of London’s East End during the 1870’s. The story centres around six year old Agatha May and her mentally disturbed mother Winnifred Alcorn."

"Since fleeing to London to escape the horrors of her past, Winnifred has found work as a baby farmer and is currently caring for five newborn infants. The miserable drudgery of Agatha and Winnifred’s existence is turned upside down as an ever-growing nightmare of nocturnal premonitions and visitations befall them. As Agatha and Winnifred’s desperate world slowly begins to unravel a shadowy stranger appears on the streets of Whitechapel and initiates a terrifying game of cat and mouse that will leave both mother and daughter changed forever."

Go To Hell! review - Melbourne International Comedy Festival

No one goes to a comedy show expecting to shit themselves, but in Go To Hell!, the team from Watson intend to make us do just that. Adam McKenzie, Liam Ryan and Tegan Higginbotham are hosting a seminar on how to kill your fears and live a happy and peaceful life through an ingenious two-step program.

The first step is to make everyone shit themselves from being scared, and so begins a fear buffet from short and terrifying sketches, one involving McKenzie and Ryan is particularly horrific (you'll know it when you see it), and speaking directly to the audience as they share seemingly personal stories and encounters they've had. The extent as to how factual these supernatural anecdotes are is questionable, however if you choose to allow yourself to be swept away by the show, they are incredibly eerie and spooky, especially Higginbotham's recollection of an incident that happened during a Watson show at the Old Melbourne Gaol a few years ago.

Go To Hell! - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

In the 2015 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Watson asked us Who's Afraid of The Dark? This festival, well frankly they don't really care, as they premiere their brand new show Go To Hell! While this is another blend of horror and comedy, what sets this show apart and creates further interest is that Watson will be delving deep into fear itself and have audiences facing their own nightmares in an evening of scary storytelling and laughs. The trio that make up Watson, Adam McKenzie, Tegan Higginbotham and Liam Ryan, are also the recipients of the prestigious Moosehead Award this year, which provides grants for Australian comedians wishing to perform new and unique works, and by its description, Go To Hell! will definitely be leaving its mark on audiences.

"There are two things you can expect, when you come to see Go To Hell!" McKenzie tells me. "The first one is comedy and the second one is that you will literally shit yourself with horror. We wanted the show to be funny and terrifying. This time round we are at the Malthouse Theatre and there's going to be a good balance of lots of scares and lots of laughs."

Suburban Gothic review

Cabaret doesn't get more macabre and twisted than in Suburban Gothic. There is definitely "some spooky shit going down" in this show, but what makes it even more unnerving is that it is all apparently taking place just down the road from where you live - or even closer to home... 

What initially seem like charming and innocuous cabaret songs, soon turn grim and morbid at the masterful musical hands of writers Karlis Zaid, Mark Jones and Karin Muiznieks. The songs cleverly expose the darker underbelly of the suburbs in wry and witty ways, with no topic taboo.

Top 10 Shows of 2016

What a year of theatre! Managed to squeeze in 172 performances in 2016 while working full-time and starting a Masters part-time. Not sure where I found the time or the energy but there's just so much great theatre and live performances happening in Melbourne constantly, that it's impossible to say no to things. Having said that, there are still shows I deeply regret missing out on seeing this year but unfortunately that is always going to be the case, it's impossible to see everything.

Seeing the 2017 programs for Dance Massive, Midsumma, Arts House, Malthouse Theatre, The Butterfly Club and Theatreworks (just to name a few), there is something in store for everyone no matter what your interests so get on it! 
I know it's going to be another busy year for me and I cannot wait, but back to 2016 and my top ten shows of the year. If I originally reviewed the show then a link to the original review is also provided.

So, without further ado, here is my list:

1. Picnic At Hanging Rock

Picnic At Hanging Rock Photo Credit: Pia Johnson

Having been a massive fan of the book and movie, I was initially skeptical as to how Matt Lutton's production would hold up, but I was utterly impressed by this that I decided to see it a second time.
Lutton perfectly captures the repressed sexuality of these private schoolgirls and the harsh landscape in which these people attempt to own and control.
The ensemble (Elizabeth Nabben, Amber McMahon, Arielle Gray, Harriet Gordon-Anderson and Nikki Shiels) are flawless in their various roles, constantly switching between characters - covering both genders and a range of ages - in the blink of an eye.
A thoughtful and inspiring set design by Zoë Atkinson - particularly the ominous 'tree' hanging over the rest of the set in the shadows - together with Paul Jackson's lighting design, Ash Gibson Greig's composition and J. David Franzk's sound design made Picnic At Hanging Rock an unforgettable example of creating horror in theatre.
Full subscription to Malthouse Theatre's incredible 2017 season has already been purchased and can't wait to see what's to come.