Australia Felix : History Reimagined : The Life, Tales, Trials, Sentencing and Execution of Clarke the Flying Barber
A remarkable story of a runaway convict, life with tribes in the bush, magistrates, a leading government explorer and a landowner. Told by a travelling theatre company of the time, on the eve of the execution of the convict. An updated account of values and visions in early colonial Australia, that resonate with current debates. It has a strong cast, and rich mix of songs, poems and dialogue.
Rick Butler plays John MacNamara, lead player in a travelling troupe that were common in nineteen century Australia. Rick is an AIM grad whose theatre credits include Little Triangle’s Work of Art, Merrily We Roll Along and Sunday in the Park with George, Squabbalogic’s Man of La Mancha, The Drowsy Chaperone and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, to name a few.
“The characters we’re all playing are members of a nineteenth-century troupe of travelling players under the banner of MacNamara’s All-Australian Theatre, who then play stylised characters in the show-within-a-show,” Rick says. “Figuring out how that works has been a pretty unique challenge. Writer/director Geoffrey Sykes made the very clever choice early on while writing the script, that no matter what show-within-a-show character we’re playing at any given moment the text will always attribute the line to the name of the player playing that character. It’s a neat little reminder that underneath everything I’m playing MacNamara, no matter what part he’s currently playing in the story.
“We have a beautiful opening sequence that introduces us to the cast of five and the general premise, and the text gives us a few clues about who these troubadour characters are and how they relate to each other, but once they start telling the main story we’ve really only got ourselves to work with.
“Most of us are on stage for the majority of the show, helping with set transitions and providing little snippets of narration, so discovering who we are when we’re not in the spotlight has been a fun process, mostly coming from ideas that the cast have brought along and our organic interactions both on and off stage.”
Composer Steve Wood has written some truly extraordinary music that at first glance emulate the simple and catchy melodies of nineteenth century popular music, but somehow contain enough depth and variation to make any music nerd grin.
Musical director Kate Stewart has skilfully managed to bring these songs to life with very limited instrumentation by using these tools sparingly, mixing up playing styles, harmonies and even presenting one number a capella!
Rick says he’s a music theatre person at heart. “While not strictly a musical, AUSTRALIA FELIX definitely takes its cue from the vaudevillian troubadour style, mixing up scenes and monologues with songs that comment on the story, as well as underscoring and some moments of dramatic body percussion. Thankfully, there’s a lot that screams “musical theatre,” from the showmanship to flashy movement to the guitar always hanging on his neck.
“I carry the bulk of the musical load, playing guitar for most of the songs, chiming in with the occasional vocal harmony, and driving a lot of the musical and percussive moments, so having a lot of actor/musician and choral experience to fall back on has certainly come in handy!”
AUSTRALIA FELIX is really a show about us reckoning with our past, told through the lens of people reckoning with their past. The troubadours are telling the story of an early nineteenth-century convict, so we’ve really got two historical periods that we’re trying to represent. The narrative of the show-within-a-show, that of convict George Clarke’s adventures and misadventures, brings us through the not-so-long-ago atrocities of convict slave labour, the displacement of indigenous people, the corruption of the justice system and eventually the death penalty, all the while providing the perspectives of sympathetic contemporary characters who were powerless to stop any of it.
For instance, Clarke was an early advocate for indigenous peoples, but due to a few strategic errors and some strong opposition his advocacy didn’t accomplish much. The plucky group of troubadours telling his story represent the continued advocacy falling on mostly deaf ears, leading to injustices still happening to this very day. If those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, then this country hasn’t learned enough about its history.
Clarke claim to have found a great inland river came to the attention of Thomas Mitchell, the NSW Survey General. Clarke was given a reprieve from punishment as a bushranger while Mitchell went off on a full expedition based on Clarke’s advice and maps. The play embellishes the fantasy type tale of Clarke, and his later life at Norfolk Island and Van Diemen’s land where he was executed, as a fable of Australian identity and values. The association of the two explorers – Clarke and Mitchell – becomes the context for a rich play of values and ideas that resonate today.
Songs composed by Steve Wood
Musical direction Kate Stewart
The cast comprises Rick Butler, Melissa Glinn, Tisha Kelemen, Freya Moore, Mark Alexander
Direction by Geoffrey Sykes assisted by Kate Stewart
Written by Geoffrey Sykes (Tales of Kabbarli, Out of Africa, Somewhere South)
Three showcase performances will take place at the Chippen Street Theatre, 45 Chippen Street Chippendale. The performance will take place on the 8th and 9th December at 7.30pm and a Saturday matinee at 2pm.
Bookings at https://www.trybooking.com/CMQWA