Yarts on Skates

Coral Drouyn takes a look at “Bleach” for 2023 and talks to actress and artist Claire Atkins about an ambitious new musical, Roller Coaster, which is a highlight of the festival.

The late Sir Les Patterson called them “The Yarts” and there are still many who believe that an Arts festival is an excuse for undercooked vanity projects and obscure ventures into pretension...all adding up to a massive waste of money. All of which makes the success of the Gold Coast’s “Bleach” Festival (now in its 12^th incarnation) all the more unlikely. Perhaps it’s the (mostly) brilliant weather, since the majority of the Festival takes place outdoors, or the vision of the indefatigable CEO Rosie Dennis, or the amount of community involvement and audience participation that has made this Arts festival one of the most successful in the country? Or perhaps it’s simply that the perception of the Gold Coast is so Crass and Brash, that we are determined to prove that perception WRONG!

At any rate Bleach goes from strength to strength and offerings in the past have included stunning performances from The Farm, as well as eclectic music performances. And while, for many, Katie Noonan’s Blue, celebrating the 50^th anniversary of Joni Mitchell’s iconic album of that name, will be the must-see performance of the festival, there’s something of more interest to an old Music Theatre tragic like me.

This year Bleach will present an entirely NEW Australian musical, set in a roller-skating rink and called, appropriately Roller Coaster. The concept was suggested by two skaters, Nadia Sundae and Monie Bones, and then shaped by company Everybody NOW. I had the chance to talk to leading actress Claire Atkins, an exciting performer who will create the role of Sam in the show. She’s well known to ABC and Stan viewers and won critical acclaim in Patricia Cornelius’s provocative play SHIT.  I asked her how she became involved.

“I was quite unexpectedly contacted and asked if I would audition,” she tells me. “The concept sounded intriguing and there was plenty of chance to be part of the creative process so that was exciting. But then they mentioned that I had to be able to skate, and I had never been on skates in my life – or, if I had, it was as a child, and I must have fallen over a lot and blocked the whole experience.”

So you had to turn it down? I surmised.

“No, not at all,” she tells me. “I’m a believer that anything can be done if you set your mind to it, and the auditions were a month away…so I simply told the producer that by the time the auditions came around, I would be able to skate. And I did. And I got the role! I actually had my first skating lesson on my 50^th birthday.”

Claire is one of those rare people whose entire soul is infused with the arts. When she’s not on stage, she is making ceramics, or composing songs, or making music, or singing and making records of her original songs. She just can’t help herself.

“I just have to immerse myself in some form of creativity. I’ve been like that since I was a kid. I was very shy, and not the least bit ambitious. So it wasn’t a need for attention or a ‘look at me’ desire,” she explains. “And it’s not about earning money, or becoming famous, though I’m not passing judgement on people who pursue those things. It’s that I have to express myself through some form of art…it’s what really brings me to life and feeds my spirit.”

But isn’t it difficult to build a career while living in a regional part of Northern New South Wales, north of Byron Bay?

Claire thinks about the question, but only for a moment.

“You know what?” she responds, “I’ve got a feeling, it’s not as hard as trying to make it in a big city, where you have to hustle for work and be competitive and juggle a dozen things at once just to make ends meet. I like being in a small pond. It’s far easier to swim, and there’s more time to think about what you want to create.. and if people see me in a play one week (Claire has had some highly acclaimed roles over the years) and then see me at the markets selling my ceramics the next week…or doing a music gig somewhere, well that’s a good thing isn’t it? I don’t really understand the concept of ‘stardom” or status. We’re all just trying to interpret Art in the best way we can…and that means being supportive of each other.”

Claire is doubly excited by rehearsals and the way the show is evolving. “The music is locked down of course and we learned the songs as written, but our director Ian Pidd has been wonderful in giving us latitude to develop the characters, and the dialogue so that we feel totally connected to the truth at the centre of the story.” She enthuses.

It promises to be a show full of surprises, and true to the ethos of the Bleach Festival, it has a large dose of community participation. Local skaters have been invited to participate and several roller skating clubs have turned up en masse to be part of the skating ensemble on stage. The show will initially just play 3 nights at HOTA from the 3^rd-5^th August, in the fabulous outdoor amphitheatre, but who knows what that will lead to? Claire is there for the experience of doing something creative that she has never tried before.

“Learning to skate at my age, isn’t the easiest thing I have ever done. I spent a lot of time falling flat on my bum and pushing myself to get back up again.” She tells me “But that’s kind of a metaphor for life, isn’t it? Especially in the Arts.”

BLEACH Festival runs from 3^rd-13^th August at various venues on the Gold Coast.

ROLLER COASTER Plays at the HOTA outdoor theatre from 3^rd-5^th August.

Roller Coaster images by Art Work Agency, Portrait of Claire Atkens by K Holmes.