PREHISTORIC PERFORMERS - Jane Cornwell … · Dinosaur Zoo , is described by Wright as an up-scaled...
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4 FEATURE February 27-28, 2016 theaustralian.com.au/review AUSE01Z01AR - V1 Montana. “Roger was going to come fishing since the Who were touring and they had a night off. My next-door neighbour, an English guy, had guided [Barack] Obama to catch fish, and I asked him if he’d take Roger Daltrey as he’d confirmed and was definitely coming. He said, ‘I didn’t like the Who that much, I pre- ferred the Stones.’ ” He pauses, sighs. “Anyway they cancelled the tour; Roger got pleurisy.” It’s in the wilds (and assorted coffee shops) of Montana that Hall pens scripts for his ac- claimed US-themed BBC4 documentaries, among them Rich Hall’s Continental Drifters, Rich Hall’s The Dirty South and Rich Hall’s You Can Go to Hell I’m Going to Texas. Before his recent British stand-up tour he spent a month stateside filming the rallies of Republican candidates for How to Kill a Presi- dent, a BBC program to be screened in Britain in July. “It’s about how shitty the job of US president is. Nobody talks about that.” As for his own political views, he’s not writ- ing Hillary Clinton off just yet, and reckons Donald Trump is no more a threat to the presidency than a Pauline Hanson or Nigel Farage: “These people dominate the media and change the course of conversation so that other politicians are forced to think about some answers.” He says he was shocked to discover that big-name candidates travelled with their own stooges, people they’d plant in the crowd to ask the same question at different rallies. An Iraqi war veteran wondering about benefits. A nine-year-old girl asking about education. “I’m looking at the other journalists in the press corps like, ‘WTF?’ They’re like ‘Yeah, and?’ I realised I’m the naive idiot.” So, is live comedy more important than ever in these tougher times? Do we need the com- edian as court jester, as the boy calling out the naked emperor, more than we have before? “No,” says Hall. Nonetheless, it’s stand-ups such as Hall who have the potential to make us think long after we’ve stopped belly laughing, who use wit and banter to provoke debate and opinions. He will be doing all this and more on his forthcoming 3.10 to Humour tour, which he says is nothing like the 3.10 to Humour British tour, since 3.10 to Humour is just a slightly clever title for whatever collection of stuff he feels like saying at the time. Whatever that is, he doesn’t get tired of saying it. “That’s what I don’t understand about my- self.” That quizzical look again. “Why is this still fun? If I was a really great basketball play- er I’d go and play basketball every day until my knees didn’t work any more. Because that’s what it is, fun. “ He flashes a smile. “I get a kick out of doing comedy, simple as that.” Rich Hall performs at the Adelaide Fringe Festival from March 7, then Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne until April 4. Continued from Page 3 The international success of Erth’s flagship production Dinosaur Zoo (originally Dinosaur Petting Zoo) testifies to this trend. The show opened in 2008, aiming to fill a gap in the mar- ket by combining the company’s advanced mechanical puppetry with Australian palaeon- tology, and ended up on Broadway. “What we wanted to do is talk about the pointy end of palaeontology and actually con- tribute to a child’s experience of dinosaurs, rather than just going: ‘Want a T. rex? Here’s a T. rex’.” It hasn’t stopped touring since its inception. The show arriving at the Adelaide Festival today, billed as the “Broadway version” of Dinosaur Zoo, is described by Wright as an up- scaled version of Erth’s original show: “It was just an easier way of saying Dinosaur Zoo pimped up.” During its New York season last year, the team filled a last-minute two-week spot at the New Victory Theatre on 42nd Street and sold out every show. It even attracted the children of Manhattan’s elite. “Alicia Keys, Jerry Sein- feld, Sarah Jessica Parker; they all brought their kids. I was shitting myself thinking I was going to have to do comedy in front of Jerry Seinfeld, and then they were right in the front seats,” says Wright, chuckling. The Broadway version doubled the amount of dinosaurs and added US natives, such as T. rex and the triceratops, to mingle with their Australian counterparts. The show includes more dinosaur babies, which mew and gurgle, and interact with children during and after the show. Other additions, such as onstage camer- as that examine the interior of a dinosaur’s mouth when it has a toothache, have elevated that original palaeontological petting zoo. “The very first show we ever did we were lit- erally throwing raw sausage meat around, giv- ing it to kids to throw at the dinosaurs. That was the very first time we ever did it, and it was really reckless,” says Wright. “As something that started as a street show, it’s evolved and become a show that’s now touring the world.” He attributes the show’s longevity to Erth’s attention to detail and interest in palaeontolog- WE WERE THROWING RAW SAUSAGE MEAT AROUND. IT WAS REALLY RECKLESS SCOTT WRIGHT I t is a fact universally omitted from palae- ontology lessons, but the inside of an Aus- tralovenator — the 2m-long theropod that roamed earth 95 million years ago — re- sembles the cockpit of a fighter jet. Granted, the dinosaur this writer is able to peek inside is a puppet, and a hi-tech one at that. In a muggy warehouse space at the back of Sydney’s Carriageworks, Scott Wright, director and founder of puppet theatre company Erth, is promising to impart the secrets of the art form by “dumping me in the deep end”. Crouched in the dimly lit Australovenator, an aluminium construction covered in a Lycra skin, which weighs about 40kg and stands more than 2m tall, I hear a voice from outside: “Give us a roar.” I flick the neon switches above my head, grip the U-shaped steering wheel, put my mouth to the microphone and let loose. My stock-standard scream, too high to match the reptilian giant I am standing in, drops two oc- taves in translation and resonates around the room. I am puppeteer. Hear me roar. Puppetry, specifically the no-strings- attached, tech-savvy version Erth has been de- veloping since 1990, is enjoying a cultural renaissance. In theatre, the sophisticated en- gineering used to reimagine the stirring World War I tale of a soldier and his equine com- panion in the British National Theatre’s pro- duction of War Horse has helped keep the production on stage for almost a decade, while Disney’s musical adaptation of The Lion King, with its puppets roaming the African savanna, is Broadway’s highest grossing production. “Puppetry,” as Wright puts it, “is the new black.” “The thing with puppetry is, it’s — generally speaking — considered to be the realm of child- ren,” he says. “And I think adults are becoming a bit more enamoured by puppetry since it’s sort of been given that opportunity to have a higher status within the arts realm.” PREHISTORIC PERFORMERS Simone Fox Koob mingles with Erth’s dynamic puppets as the ‘Broadway version’ of Dinosaur Zoo comes to the Adelaide Festival PICTURES: HOLLIE ADAMS Renaissance Tours Pty Ltd. (License number 2TA4526) is the tour organiser. Neither News Limited, nor any of its subsidiaries nor any of their newspapers have any involvement in the tour, and have no liability of any kind to any person in relation to the tour. Beginning and ending in the great cultural capitals of Munich and Amsterdam, enjoy a relaxing river cruise aboard the Amadeus Elegant from Bavaria to the Netherlands along the Main and Rhine Rivers, stopping at the charming cities of Nuremberg, Bamberg, Würzburg, Bonn and Cologne. The Critics’ Choice Art and Music Cruise MUNICH – MAIN AND RHINE – AMSTERDAM | 19 June – 04 July 2016 (16 days) with Christopher Allen, John McDonald and Christopher Lawrence Reader Oer from Renaissance Tours For detailed information call 1300 727 095, visit www.renaissancetours.com.au or contact your travel agent. MS Amadeus Elegant on the Rhine; Würzburg and Mariss Jansons, musical director of Tchaikovsky’s ‘ The Queen of Spades’ – Dutch National Opera
Transcript of PREHISTORIC PERFORMERS - Jane Cornwell … · Dinosaur Zoo , is described by Wright as an up-scaled...
4 FEATURE
February 27-28, 2016 theaustralian.com.au/reviewAUSE01Z01AR - V1
Montana. “Roger was going to come fishingsince the Who were touring and they had anight off. My next-door neighbour, an Englishguy, had guided [Barack] Obama to catch fish,and I asked him if he’d take Roger Daltrey ashe’d confirmed and was definitely coming. Hesaid, ‘I didn’t like the Who that much, I pre-ferred the Stones.’ ” He pauses, sighs. “Anywaythey cancelled the tour; Roger got pleurisy.”
It’s in the wilds (and assorted coffee shops)of Montana that Hall pens scripts for his ac-claimed US-themed BBC4 documentaries,among them Rich Hall’s Continental Drifters,Rich Hall’s The Dirty South and Rich Hall’s YouCan Go to Hell I’m Going to Texas.
Before his recent British stand-up tour hespent a month stateside filming the rallies ofRepublican candidates for How to Kill a Presi-dent, a BBC program to be screened in Britainin July. “It’s about how shitty the job of USpresident is. Nobody talks about that.”
As for his own political views, he’s not writ-ing Hillary Clinton off just yet, and reckonsDonald Trump is no more a threat to thepresidency than a Pauline Hanson or NigelFarage: “These people dominate the mediaand change the course of conversation so thatother politicians are forced to think aboutsome answers.”
He says he was shocked to discover thatbig-name candidates travelled with their ownstooges, people they’d plant in the crowd toask the same question at different rallies. AnIraqi war veteran wondering about benefits. Anine-year-old girl asking about education.“I’m looking at the other journalists in thepress corps like, ‘WTF?’ They’re like ‘Yeah,and?’ I realised I’m the naive idiot.”
So, is live comedy more important than everin these tougher times? Do we need the com-edian as court jester, as the boy calling out thenaked emperor, more than we have before?
“No,” says Hall. Nonetheless, it’s stand-ups such as Hall
who have the potential to make us think longafter we’ve stopped belly laughing, who usewit and banter to provoke debate andopinions.
He will be doing all this and more on hisforthcoming 3.10 to Humour tour, which hesays is nothing like the 3.10 to Humour Britishtour, since 3.10 to Humour is just a slightlyclever title for whatever collection of stuff hefeels like saying at the time. Whatever that is,he doesn’t get tired of saying it.
“That’s what I don’t understand about my-self.” That quizzical look again. “Why is thisstill fun? If I was a really great basketball play-er I’d go and play basketball every day untilmy knees didn’t work any more. Becausethat’s what it is, fun. “
He flashes a smile. “I get a kick out of doingcomedy, simple as that.”
Rich Hall performs at the Adelaide Fringe Festival from March 7, then Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne until April 4.
Continued from Page 3
The international success of Erth’s flagshipproduction Dinosaur Zoo (originally DinosaurPetting Zoo) testifies to this trend. The showopened in 2008, aiming to fill a gap in the mar-ket by combining the company’s advancedmechanical puppetry with Australian palaeon-tology, and ended up on Broadway.
“What we wanted to do is talk about thepointy end of palaeontology and actually con-tribute to a child’s experience of dinosaurs,rather than just going: ‘Want a T. rex? Here’s aT. rex’.”
It hasn’t stopped touring since its inception.The show arriving at the Adelaide Festivaltoday, billed as the “Broadway version” ofDinosaur Zoo, is described by Wright as an up-scaled version of Erth’s original show: “It was
just an easier way of saying Dinosaur Zoopimped up.”
During its New York season last year, theteam filled a last-minute two-week spot at theNew Victory Theatre on 42nd Street and soldout every show. It even attracted the childrenof Manhattan’s elite. “Alicia Keys, Jerry Sein-feld, Sarah Jessica Parker; they all brought theirkids. I was shitting myself thinking I was goingto have to do comedy in front of Jerry Seinfeld,and then they were right in the front seats,”says Wright, chuckling.
The Broadway version doubled the amountof dinosaurs and added US natives, such asT. rex and the triceratops, to mingle with theirAustralian counterparts. The show includesmore dinosaur babies, which mew and gurgle,and interact with children during and after theshow. Other additions, such as onstage camer-as that examine the interior of a dinosaur’smouth when it has a toothache, have elevatedthat original palaeontological petting zoo.
“The very first show we ever did we were lit-erally throwing raw sausage meat around, giv-ing it to kids to throw at the dinosaurs. Thatwas the very first time we ever did it, and it wasreally reckless,” says Wright. “As somethingthat started as a street show, it’s evolved andbecome a show that’s now touring the world.”
He attributes the show’s longevity to Erth’sattention to detail and interest in palaeontolog-
WE WERE THROWING RAW SAUSAGE MEAT AROUND. IT WAS REALLY RECKLESS
SCOTT WRIGHT
It is a fact universally omitted from palae-ontology lessons, but the inside of an Aus-tralovenator — the 2m-long theropod thatroamed earth 95 million years ago — re-sembles the cockpit of a fighter jet.
Granted, the dinosaur this writer is able topeek inside is a puppet, and a hi-tech one atthat. In a muggy warehouse space at the back ofSydney’s Carriageworks, Scott Wright, directorand founder of puppet theatre company Erth, ispromising to impart the secrets of the art formby “dumping me in the deep end”.
Crouched in the dimly lit Australovenator,an aluminium construction covered in a Lycraskin, which weighs about 40kg and standsmore than 2m tall, I hear a voice from outside:“Give us a roar.” I flick the neon switches abovemy head, grip the U-shaped steering wheel, putmy mouth to the microphone and let loose. Mystock-standard scream, too high to match thereptilian giant I am standing in, drops two oc-taves in translation and resonates around theroom. I am puppeteer. Hear me roar.
Puppetry, specifically the no-strings-attached, tech-savvy version Erth has been de-veloping since 1990, is enjoying a culturalrenaissance. In theatre, the sophisticated en-gineering used to reimagine the stirring WorldWar I tale of a soldier and his equine com-panion in the British National Theatre’s pro-duction of War Horse has helped keep theproduction on stage for almost a decade, whileDisney’s musical adaptation of The Lion King,with its puppets roaming the African savanna,is Broadway’s highest grossing production.
“Puppetry,” as Wright puts it, “is the newblack.”
“The thing with puppetry is, it’s — generallyspeaking — considered to be the realm of child-ren,” he says. “And I think adults are becominga bit more enamoured by puppetry since it’ssort of been given that opportunity to have ahigher status within the arts realm.”
PREHISTORIC PERFORMERS
Simone Fox Koob mingles with Erth’s dynamic puppets as the ‘Broadway version’ of Dinosaur Zoo comes to the Adelaide Festival
PICT
URES
: HO
LLIE
ADA
MS
Renaissance Tours Pty Ltd. (License number 2TA4526) is the tour organiser. Neither News Limited, nor any of its subsidiaries nor any of their newspapers have any involvement in the tour, and have no liability of any kind to any person in relation to the tour.
Beginning and ending in the great cultural capitals of Munich and Amsterdam, enjoy a relaxing river cruise aboard the Amadeus Elegant from Bavaria to the Netherlands along the Main and Rhine Rivers, stopping at the charming cities of Nuremberg, Bamberg, Würzburg, Bonn and Cologne.
The Critics’ Choice Art and Music CruiseMUNICH – MAIN AND RHINE – AMSTERDAM | 19 June – 04 July 2016 (16 days) with Christopher Allen, John McDonald and Christopher Lawrence
Reader O"er from Renaissance Tours
For detailed information call 1300 727 095, visit www.renaissancetours.com.au or contact your travel agent.
MS Amadeus Elegant on the Rhine; Würzburg and Mariss Jansons, musical director of Tchaikovsky’s ‘ The Queen of Spades’ – Dutch National Opera
