The Almost Completely Terrible Tale of Felicity Footin

The Almost Completely Terrible Tale of Felicity Footin has one of the brightest posters at Fringe World. Resplendent in bright yellow, pink, and purple, it looks more like a children’s show with its happy, bright feel. 

The production looks exactly like its cartoon poster, with characters rosy cheeked and brightly clothed, but this modern fable hides some serious themes behind its bright and happy exterior. Felicity Footin is a new corporate employee at a soft toy company with the motto “no sharp edges”. They take this motto into their corporate policy, requesting that all communications be passive and indirect. But as Felicity tries to mould herself into the company line, she risks losing the love of her life.

Highly presentational, with lots of straight-line staging, and characters facing the audience, the feeling throughout is bright and upbeat which highlights the satire in a company where real issues are being “swept under the carpet”. Wordy but clever, the perils of swiftly speaking corporate jargon brought a couple of the actors undone, with a few prompts on the night I attended.

Sharni Anderson was sweet and delightful in the title role, the aptly named Felicity Footin (the character names throughout are both cute and clever), a worthy leading lady with whom the audience sympathises. Her “tell it like it is” but smiley parents are played by Natasha Passmore and Gino Catalo, with fiancé Fergus Forthwith played with conviction by Zac Holmes.

Felicity’s colleagues are played with great teamwork. Audrey Poor is especially fun as the not-very-nice Agnes Undo, with good work from Flynn Voight, Mackenzie Hall, Shane Keefe, Angelle Hart and Lachlan Parker. Unexpected ally Samuel Smoothly is given flamboyance and honesty by Dave Jones.

Jane Hille Productions have created a new work that is striking satire and very funny. Cartoon comedy with a cutting edge. 

Kimberley Shaw