“We are boosting the profile of puppetry,” says Dylan Tate of Flabbergast Theatre. “We’re keen to challenge the notion that puppets are just for children.” Tate, who voices Sergey in Boris & Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure, Flabbergast Theatre’s first MICF show, says acts like Flabbergast Theatre, Avenue Q and Sammy J and Randy are bringing a new awareness of just how ‘adult’ a puppet show can be. Traditional Punch and Judy puppet shows were never intended for child audiences after all. Described as ‘an improvised cross over cabaret featuring Bunraku puppetry for discerningly twisted adult audiences – riotous exploits, malarkey, molestation and mirth,’ the show will confront anybody expecting a cute, kiddy-friendly kind of performance. In their Vaudevillian Adventure, two Russian card sharps, the aforementioned Boris and Sergey, take audiences on a very different kind of journey via a rigged poker game. “It’s weird and wonderful,” says Tate. “We scare and hoodwink the audience. The main concept is lots of vaudeville skits, and routines. Sergey and Boris are like a clown duo, they’re a bit like Laurel and Hardy, where you have a straight guy and a fall guy. Sergey is the straight guy, he’s putting on a show, he’s been doing it for a few years and his younger brother wants to get involved. Boris comes along and messes it all up.”
Are there any particular challenges in putting the show together? “The trickiest part is that there’s lots of improv,” answers Tate. “You have three people on each puppet, working the legs, head, the arm and the back of the arm, so six people have to work together. It’s a nice relationship. We completely welcome hecklers! The puppets deal with them so well. They can get away with anything; they can get away with murder. Your darker alter-ego comes out, the puppets say all the things you’d love to say but don’t. Puppets are usually forgiven. It’s a cathartic experience; it can be a complete release. There are no barriers or restrictions; the audience can get on board with that. Anything can really happen.” Do they have plans for the future? “Boris and Sergey definitely have plans for world domination.”
Tate is one of the founders of Flabbergast Theatre which came together in 2010. Does Tate describe himself as a puppet master? “We’re a puppet masterful company! We’ve been operating for five years. So we’re pretty good at it at this moment!” With ten five star reviews and sell out show in Edinburgh and Adelaide, there’s no need for false modesty here. “We came to Australia for the first time last year,” says Tate. “We went to Perth. We decided to do a bigger one for MICF.” Well, we in Melbourne do love a puppet behaving badly, being the home of Snuff Puppets and all. A trip to Prague is soon planned for Flabbergast, as well as a US tour. Is there a puppet community in the comedy scene? Tate says he’s caught up with Heath McIvor, (Randy of Sammy J’s and Randy fame) already and was looking forward to seeing their show.
Who makes the Flabbergast puppets? “Henry makes all the props.” That would be Flabbergast’s Henry Maynard whose credits include War Horse, Blind Summit and Handspring. You don’t get much more masterful than that. Have there been any really hairy moments in performance? “We had a puppet malfunction,” Tate recalls. “Sergey lost his head once. It came flying off during the Matrix fight scene near the end, with some high action, and there was this disembodied head floating around. The audience were thoroughly on board with it, they loved it.”
BY LIZA DEZFOULI
Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, CBD
Dates: Currently being performed until April 5
Times: 8pm (Thursday – Saturday 9pm)
Tickets: $25 – $38
