Seen & Heard began life in 2015, has toured to Fringes in Adelaide, Edinburgh and Perth, and previously won Melbourne Fringe’s Best Cabaret award in 2017, so it returned laden with an impressive history.
This time around, six years after its last outing, we met five of the original cast, all of whom have been changed by what has happened to them in the intervening years. They were back to update us in wonderfully direct, emotionally honest ways that were funny, touching and wholly engaging.
After a brief recreation of dancing glory days by Kyneton native Wes Snelling, who introduced the evening, there came Lazy Susan, taller than the Arts Centre spire, in a mango ensemble with a blonde bouffant that had subsided from her previous up-do, which may well have had its own postcode back in the day.
Before a hilarious demonstration of the (probably) undesirable effects of Botox, Lazy S shared a tale of her sadly unremarkable, trauma-free early years with a loving, empathic mother, in which we could detect the origins of Lazy’s heightened sense of irony.
Tina Del Twist serenaded us in between hearty slurps from her fishbowl-sized wine goblet, which was parked with assorted audience members in between gulps – and Tina’s interestingly pitched song stylings. This reviewer was happy not to be in the front row at this point.
Anna Lumb, well-known from Glory Box, and a co-producer of the evening, told us about her quixotic leap into being forced to learn a whole new way of being an artist, while simultaneously parenting small children and enduring multiple groan-inducing operations – not ideal for a physical performer.
Maureen McGillicuddy (Granny Bingo) then appeared in a nice house frock buttoned up the front – remember them? Probably not, you young folk – with a load of clean (we presume) washing, an ironing board that had seen better days, and a generous bosom, which she adjusted and tended to as women of a certain age have been known to do.
Memories of my great-aunts and grandmother surged briefly into the forefront of my consciousness. Then, Maureen’s wig abandoned on the ironing board, Kyle Minall shared touching stories of his grandmother, with a coda of ‘The Way in Which the Ironing Board Got This Way’ – i.e. mangled beyond use.
Finally, Frankie van Kan shared her thoughts as ‘A Body at Work’, questioning society’s attitudes to our bodies and their messy realities, and why some jobs are illogically more acceptable than others. Her water dance at the end was a beautiful celebration.
The common thread through the evening was mothers and motherhood in its various manifestations – dealing with instilled attitudes and prejudices and finding priorities and realisations changing with your parenting status. All of this was buried under wit and, in a few cases, a lot of glitter and dangerously high heels.
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Each performer shared funny, painful insights with candour and warmth, while we questioned our assumptions amid the laughter and empathy. Seen & Heard made for a triumphant collection of tales of experience and self-discovery.
It was great to have this updated collection back in Melbourne on the Fringe. A welcome return six years – and changed worlds – later.
Seen & Heard
Trades Hall
Producers: Anna Lumb and Wes Snelling
Creator and Director: Rebecca Church
Cast: Cast: Tina del Twist, Anna Lumb, Frankie van Kan, Maureen McGillicuddy, Lazy Susan
Seen and Heard was performed 10-13 October 2024 as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival.
