Theatre review: Why Not Believe in Everything?, Club Voltaire

Laura Fisher is active in Melbourne’s spoken word scene and Why Not Believe in Everything? is her first play. Note that this is Club Voltaire, a delightfully indie theatre in a North Melbourne alley, so don’t expect expensive production values. Here, you’re OK if things go awry. 

And, indeed, something did. Eddy Burger – fellow poet, playwright and actor in the play – wound up in hospital the day before opening night, knocking him out for most of the season. Therefore, another of the actors, Damien Ng, performed Burger’s part with script in hand. While seeing the play as intended would have been good, Burger’s absence – with the actors needing to adapt because of it – added to the show’s already highly satirical feel. 

The play ponders whether Creationism or science is correct, ultimately concluding that maybe believing in a mixture of both is fine, hence the play’s name. It opens with narrators on either side of the stage (one of them Fisher), one representing science, the other the Biblical take on Earth’s beginnings. As they take turns telling their tales, performers mime the action being narrated. 

Why Not Believe in Everything? features various Biblical scenes, including Noah’s Ark and the Tower of Babel, all written with a quill of Pythonesque absurdist humour dipped in a flamboyant poet’s inkpot. The comedic timing is often spot on, as is some of the exaggerated facial expressions and body language; co-stars Katie Lohner, Pauline Sherlock, Damien Ng and Ebem Toala create a fittingly multicultural cast, and God (who – being omnipresent – sits in the corner throughout the play) is played by Vasi Samudra Devi with obvious, and sometimes hilarious, relish.

Read: Performance review: A Love Letter to the Nightingale, The Blue Room Theatre

Everyone plays their parts over the top, so Burger would have fit right in. He is recovering well and may be up for the weekend show(s). Whether you see it Burger-filled or Burger-free, this play bodes very well for Fisher as she crosses over from performance poet to actor/playwright. It’s clearly a passion project (she studied religion) and her English accent has a distinctly conversational feel, which makes her monologues a joy to listen to. If you want an indie play where life’s big questions are juggled joyously by a poet armed with a troupe of wonderfully comedic performers, this is your ticket.

Why Not Believe in Everything? by Laura Fisher
Club Voltaire
Presented by: Melbourne Fringe/Independent
Directors: Laura Fisher and Eddy Burger
Cast: Katie Lohner, Pauline Sherlock, Damien Ng, Vasi Samudra Devi, Laura Fisher Ebem Toala

Tickets: $15-$20

Why Not Believe in Everything? will be performed until 20 October 2024 as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.