Babes in the Woods:
 Australian Purity Defil'd

This is the theatrical equivalent of a wicked Christmas trifle with lots of brandy in it. A delicious dessert that might look like it’s kid friendly on the outside, but is most definitely only for the consumption of grown ups.

There were lots of bright colours and different flavours to taste in this pantomime, best sampled one at time rather than mixing them up on the same plate.

It was loosely based on the fable about children abandoned in a forest by an unscrupulous relative, hoping to do away with them to steal an inheritance. Thrown in like hundreds and thousands are sprinkles of Australiana such as an emu.

Suitably horrid as the evil scheming Auntie Avericia was Annie Byron. The audience was handed a bag of cabbage to throw at the cast and she was the most popular recipient of the vegetable missiles.

Attracting the most attention on stage was Sean Hawkins in the character of Jack.  His physique was amply exploited in a number of cheesy poses.

Adding to the hilarity was Gabriel Fancourt, splendidly attired in red suspenders as his ‘girlfriend’ Phyliss.

There was nothing subtle about the double entendre or the political points made about angels of white privilege.

A nice touch was offering members of the audience a beer for five dollars a piece, which would have glided down easily in the steamy Old Fitz space if only I had the change in my pocket. Helping to digest the work was Phillipe Klaus, lively on the keyboard.

Babes in the Woodsis high cholesterol fun.

David Spicer

Photographer: Ross Waldron