“This modern allegory is very dark, very funny and a chronicle of our times. “
– Fiona Hallenan-Barker 4 /5 Kwells tablets
Back in early 2020 when everyone was watching the unfolding news events in China an intrepid solo entertainer stepped on board the Pacific Explorer cruise ship ready for a new working adventure. Days later thousands of retirees stepped off the Ruby Princess in Sydney Harbour, borders slammed shut and all entertainment was cancelled, leaving an entire industry wondering what was going to happen next. The subsequent events have now, with much hindsight and sensitivity, be turned into As Luck Would Have It starring the solo entertainer who was stranded on the cruise ship, Drew Fairly.
Back then, Fairley’s ship disembarked all passengers and was then pushed out of Australian waters with no where to go. As Fairely himself describes it “the world closed down and the ship was set adrift”. The distress and boredom of being trapped in a small cabin for weeks on end in the middle of the ocean with nothing to do resulted Actual Cabin Actual Fever, his online short comedy show released on Instagram. It is hilarious and heartbreaking all at once.
As Luck Would Have It builds upon this comedy show and narrates events in a slow unravelling of incredible circumstances and ridiculous occurrences. As audiences enter the Bruce Gordon theatre at Merrigong the interior feels like a cruise ship; metal hand rails, plush purple carpet and a white self-playing piano that emits softy inoffensive music. It is the perfect matinee setting and we are ready to be entertained.
Drew Fairley plays Andy, the entertainer stuck on board the abandoned cruise ship. Musical Director Daryl Wallis appears as a vision in sparkly white and Andy takes us on a trip down memory lane to the beginning of the pandemic. He is charming and funny and the audience adore him. As Andy shares his story with us he is distracted by interruptions from his unconscious mind in the shape of Bernard (Glenn Hazeldine), Rhapsody (Renee Lim) and Poseidon (Kenneth Moraleda). All four characters guide us through the one-man story.
Performances are strong from all the cast. Fairely plays a nuanced Andy, fragile from both personal and global events, whilst amused by the bizarre nature of it all. He has an uncanny ability to make languishing on stage an art form. Hazeldine shines. He is pure showman; making us laugh by imitating Andy’s hand gestures and facial expressions whilst also giving pause for thought. Renee Lim brings the razzle dazzle to acerbic showgirl Rhapsody with moments of sensitivity gleaming through. Kenneth Moraleda is hilarious and menacing as the discombobulated ship’s captain.
The direction is deftly handled by Leland Kean who brings his wealth of experience with new Australian work to the taming of what one can only imagine to be an enormous amount of material. He brings the audience to the brink of discomfort at times and then lets us off the hook with a good belly laugh. The intimacy of the end of the performance is particularly heartwarming and succinct.
The overall design is very clever and pared back to key elements. Costumes are well thought through with Lim’s showgirl costumes being particularly fun and bringing some much needed bling to the story. Beautiful lines and silhouettes in Katja Handts design are supported by Peter Rubie’s sympathetic lighting. The sheen provided by curtaining juxtaposes the dreamscape quality of memory scenes against the bruising brightness of the small ship’s cabin.
There are generous dollops of original music sung by Fairley in his honeyed mellow tones. The music is divine and Fairley’s poignant delivery is contrasted by the modern upbeat arrangements, more Bowie than Minelli.
There are also a lot of laughs in As Luck Would Have It, underpinned by scenes of profound pathos outside the cruise ship environment, such as a visit to hospital. In this expressionist death scene both Fairley and Hazeldine excel in drawing us into the interior world of the play, a Banksy meets Artaud wonderscape.
It is a testament to Fairley that he was able to distance himself from his situation by mining his entrapment for comedy value. While it sounds fun and funny to escape your reality by creating new characters it takes a skilled and experienced performer to know when to draw the line. Like Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette this performance has lacerating wit and hopefully some safety mechanisms embedded within the performance too.
The production feels lengthy at two hours plus interval, especially the second half, but overall it is a highly engaging cabaret comedy that encapsulate the pandemic experience theatrically. As Luck Would Have It answers the question Cole Haddon posed recently in his newspaper article questioning why there are no responses to the pandemic in popular culture. There are. Right here, in the theatre!
This modern allegory is very dark, very funny and a chronicle of our times. Pack your mask and sanitiser, grab your ticket and jump on board before As Luck Would Have It sails off into the sunset.
Fiona Hallenan-Barker, Theatre Now
