2012 MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL A GUIDE TO UNHAPPINESS: THE MAGIC AND PHILOSOPHY OF SUNNY LEUNIG A Guide To Unhappiness: The Magic And Philosophy Of Sunny Leunig is the creation of The Story So Far co-host Sunny Leunig, a magosopher (a person who practices both philosophy and magic), musician and filmmaker. When describing his production, Leunig laughs and with meticulous thought says, “A Guide To Unhappiness is a show that combines music, theatre and philosophy that has the potential to site your mind to solemn thought.” An apt definition of a play that delves into existential musings from philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Friedrich Nietzsche and Leunig himself. “It can sound really nihilistic saying that there’s no meaning in life. On face value that can sound quite depressing, but it’s actually uplifting. It’s kind of saying [that] you [should] rebel against the meaninglessness of it and find the meaning to it or create your own,” explains Leunig with a surprising amount of optimism. “Philosophers used to talk about a full life and a full life accommodates sadness. I think that a lot of modern societies think of life just about happiness. It’s the blues that make us human, and happiness makes us human [too]. I think if we examine our lives, there’s a certain sadness there, but it doesn’t have to be a depressing thing, it can actually be an emotion that creates a deeper relationship with the world.” It’s this exploration of life and its contemplation that creates the tale of Guide To Unhappiness, a journey inspired by Leunig’s own European trip in pursuit of
his favourite philosopher’s origins. It takes him from the beginning of Western philosophy in Greece with Socrates to the contemporary philosophies of Albert Camus, who according to Leunig is “technically not a philosopher, but uses philosophy in his writing”. Using existential philosophy in his acts is not a recent development either. Leunig’s fascination with existentialism stems from his university days when he created a short film called Larry The Philosophical Cow. “It was just a guy dressed up in a cow suit among real cows,” jokes Leunig modestly. “It was about a cow that wanted to leave the herd because the other cows couldn’t understand his philosophical views.” This is what creates the empathetic quality of A Guide To Unhappiness, while performer and writer Jono Burns brings a theatrical element that Leunig lacked. “Jono really challenged me in the drama or dialogue aspect,” admits Leunig, explaining that Burns’ contributions brought a more refined structure to the production. “I’ve done shows as a magosopher before and it’s more me talking to the audience, whereas, Jono’s contribution is his characters that I [can] bounce off.” This addition also allowed Leunig and Burns to create a more credible realm where the audience’s imagination creates the setting, dimension and time. “[We used] interactions through the other characters mainly [to create the setting], but I’m also story-telling to the audience as well. The drama is played out through flashbacks. We’re
ROYAL RUMBLE 2012 Hola hombres! Fringe time is falling fast and we need the hottest of hot tamales to participate in the grandest of Grand Finales! The gamest of the game to the lamest of the lame because it’s back and we want you in Royal Rumble 2012! If you weren’t here last year, you’re probably still kicking yourself (if you can bend that far) as Royal Rumble was and is the biggest smack down performance entertainment extravaganza of the year! See the best of the Fringe Arts performers battle it out in a no-holds-barred epic wrestling tournament. Take out your frustrations on your favourite producer or the act you love to hate in a full sized WWF Wrestling Ring! So don’t pull your hair out...Let someone else do it! Get ready for the ultimate in circus, burlesque, vaudeville and violence. So if you want to leap, lift, twist, twirl, bounce, burn, bust, balance, punch, perch, stretch, strip, spaz, spin, swallow, suspend, cavort, contort, drop, drag, dance, fart, flame, fly, flop, flip, hump, hug, heave or whore your way to glory then please email eden@redbennies.com and tell them what you are thinking of doing.
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really going minimal with it. It’s not prop driven.” Then where does the magic come in? All magical parts of the play are interspersed throughout and consist of magic tricks learnt or created by Leunig, including ones that his Bulgarian gypsy aunt taught him as a child. Though he never intentionally set out to become a magosopher, he explains that his connection with his aunt caused him to fall into the title through his love of magic and philosophy. “I always to myself as a hapless, awkward magician and not like a David Copperfield; I’d like to think it’s a little bit more poetic with the philosophy side there as well.” It’s this philosophical and magical blend that creates a versatile, unique eccentricity that is A Guide To Unhappiness: The Magic And Philosophy Of Sunny Leunig.
Venue: The Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol Street, North Melbourne Dates: October 6 - 13 (Except Monday October 8) Times: 6.45pm (Sunday 5.45pm) Tickets: Full $20, Conc. and Tuesday $15
SLOW CLAP: TRUTH
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Venue: Red Bennies, 373 Chapel St, South Yarra Date: October 14 Time: 7pm Tickets: Full $18
THE IMPROV CONSPIRACY: THE HAROLD The Improv Conspiracy are bringing Chicago-style longform improv to Melbourne with The Harold! Developed in 1967 by legendary improviser Del Close, (teacher to Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, John Belushi, Mike Myers, Stephen Colbert, Bill Murray et al), this freeform performance allows improvisers to explore all kinds of themes in this hilarious piece. In a typical Harold performance, a team of improvisers create a 30 minute performance off a single suggestion from the audience, all completely improvised. Yes, really – 100 per cent totally improvised. Any number of weird and wonderful themes and concepts can be covered via comedic scenes, physical group activities involving the whole cast, personal truthful monologues, and even the occasional completely improvised song. Two birds discussing which people make the best targets to poop on? A fox who makes a Hannibal Lecter-esque transformation after killing geese for pleasure? The most upbeat, nicest pimp and prostitute you will ever meet? Anything is possible in the format that could only be described as “controlled chaos”. All The Improv Conspiracy players come from a variety of backgrounds, many having trained in some of the best schools and troupes in Australia and the US (The Big Hoo Haa, Second City, UCB, iO West), while others have come from drama and musical theatre -
BY AVRILLE BYLOK-COLLARD ARD
there are even a couple of n00bs who started performing this year! Each of the shows at The Croft Institute will feature two Harold performances with different casts. No two are the same! Venue: The Croft Institute, 21 Croft Alley, Melbourne Dates: October 3-6, 10-13 Time: 8pm Tickets: Full $15, Conc. $10
Truth is the latest critically acclaimed physical/dance/ character comedy from Australia’s hottest experimental comedy/art makers Slow Clap. Having just returned from a breakthough season at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and on the back of a sold out season at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Slow Clap are presenting Truth for one week only as part of the Melbourne Fringe. In this follow-up to last year’s smash hit, the heartwarming alternative comedy The Hermitude of Angus, Ecstatic, Slow Clap present another full-throttle mix of storytelling, character comedy and dance. Employing his signature style of narrative physical comedy, multi-award winning performer Vachel Spirason stars in this fast-paced production that combines yarnspinning, lunacy and disco. Co-created by multi-award winning theatre-maker Stephanie Brotchie, Truth is a must-see this fringe. Venue: Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne Dates: October 3 - 5 Times: 7.45pm Tickets: Full $20, Conc. $17
2012 MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL 26 SEP – 14 OCT Tickets selling fast at melbournefringe.com.au BEAT B A MA MAGAZINE’S N S FRINGE R G FESTIVAL T A G GUIDE D 2012 2
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