Bondi Feast

Now in its sixth year, this festival of independent theatre is in full swing with lots of tasty treats on offer. Waverley Council has brought together many of the freshest acts from fringe festivals around Australia and this year even includes some Bondi locals.

The well past its use by date drab entrance to the Bondi Pavilion has been given a large splash of colour, amplified by the acts on offer. I sampled three on one night.

The first was Heavy Lifting, a free show that lasts under two minutes. You walk into the Pavilion’s lift and enjoy a quirky two minute performance involving two actors. One is a crab attempting to do a media interview with the other - a fish. Alas the fish is not very talkative until a particular button is pressed, which sets her off on a highly academic diatribe.

Then the bell goes off and you arrive on the first floor into the lovely long bar area that includes a pop up eatery, under the direction of Masterchef contestant Callan Smith. I had a delicious treat in an ice cream cone – full of exotic colourful fruity and sweet ingredients. The bar leads to a balcony overlooking Bondi Beach - which currently hosts a pop up ice skating rink.

I stepped into the Pavilion Theatre for a performance of Impromptunes: The Completely Improvised Musical. This talented troupe are given a topic by the audience and immediately sing into action to create a 50 minute musical. The topic on the night was “Attack of the Killer Apes” (or something like that). The pianist tickled the ivories in different directions then the crew whipped it into a witty narrative. Rhymes seem to come out of no-where.

It was very funny watching them glide into a dead end before a colleague miraculously intervened to keep the musical going in a new direction. A brain wave saw one cast member turn the Apes into acronym – allowing them to plausibly continue the story, which was all about overdevelopment of a city.  Who needs to apply for the rights to a musical and rehearse for it months when you can just make it up on the spot.

My last appointment was Double Denim, penned and performed by Michelle Brasier and Laura Frew. It was squeezed into a tiny room pumped with music. The dynamic duo are bogans par excellence from a High School in Wagga Wagga, which they told us is the teenage pregnancy capital of Australia.

It was a high energy 90’s retro sing and dance romp with lots of laughs, that takes you back to the teenage years when hormones are raging out of control and parents have to hang on for a wild ride.

It was challenging too for the members of the audience who were dragged on stage to take part in the odd skit. On my night the audience members were in excellent form, inspired by the two actors who were bursting with energy.

David Spicer

Photographer: Clare Hawley