Following sell-out sessions at the 2011 Melbourne and Sydney Fringe Festivals, the award-winning Cut Snake returns to St. Kilda’s Theatre Works. Presented by Sydney independent theatre company Arthur, Cut Snake excels; it’s a bizarrely hilarious and brilliant production.
Cut Snake follows a tight-knit trio of best friends, who bond over fishing, dancing and dreaming. Jumper (Kevin Kiernan-Molloy) falls in love with smart-mouthed snake, Trix. Kiki (Catherine Davies) yearns to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with a bearded lady, while Bob (Julia Billington) anchors the imaginative group, occasionally offering deadpan soundbites of rationality.
In 2011, Cut Snake was awarded the Melbourne Fringe Festival Award for best emerging writers, and it is easy to see why. Writers Amelia Evans and Dan Giovannoni employ a surreal maximalist storyline that broadly examines ideas about time travel, a ‘million-dollar’ question, friendship and growing up. Unexpectedly, this endearing tale also features an underlying theme of death that runs throughout the show. Fortunately, under the expert direction of Paige Rattray, Cut Snake deals tenderly with the subject matter of grief.
Though overall vibrant and spirited, the production offers up poignant moments with plenty of heart. Composer Tom Hogan delivers fitting tunes for raucous fun and slapstick, while Ross Graham’s lighting design perfectly accommodates the show’s adrenaline high.
The cast, meanwhile, exhibit undeniable chemistry onstage. The cheeky Kiernan-Molloy provides plenty of laughs, often heralding the best lines of the show. Davies is delightful as the saucy Kiki, boldly diving into acrobatics and cabaret. Billington shines as the most level-headed member of the group, Bob, as she skilfully balances thoughtful insight and good-natured humour. Together, the insatiable, energetic trio create a hilariously entertaining show.
Travelling to Sydney soon for a two-week stay at the Tamarama Rock Surfers’ Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Cut Snake is not to be missed. From sock puppets to Jesus impersonations, it’s a riotous, vivacious and extraordinary theatrical experience.
Rating: 4½ stars out of 5
Cut Snake
By Dan Giovannoni, Amelia Evans and Paige Rattray
Directed by Paige Rattray
Producer: Belinda Kelly
Writer: Amelia Evans and Dan Giovannoni
Composer: Tom Hogan
Lighting Designer: Ross Graham
Cast: Julia Billington, Catherine Davies and Kevin Kiernan-Molloy
Duration: 50 mins
Theatre Works, St Kilda
25 February – 9 March
Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Bondi
12 – 23 March
