SYDNEY FESTIVAL: A LIFE IN THREE ACTS
When you have a rich and varied life condensed for you into three acts, it might help if you sit down armed with a context. So here it is in three sentences: A Life in Three Acts chronicles the legacy of British actor and gay activist Peter ‘Bette’ Bourne in a series of intimate (albeit rehearsed and unspontanenous) conversations with a ‘friend’ – originally, the playwright Mark Ravenhill, who due to illness was replaced by Australian Mitchell Butel. Born in Hackney, Bourne trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama then went onto star on stage along with greats like Ian McKellan and in TV shows like The Avengers and The Prisoner, before he gave it up to live in a gay commune as part of the Gay Liberation Front. When the commune turned to drugs at the end of the 70s, he joined New York-based gay cabaret group the Hot Peaches before starting his own legendary cabaret group the Bloolips with playwright John Taylor. That’s my three sentences up – but in amongst the facts are quiet, touching insights into AIDS, activism, friendship and motherly love. A Life in Three Acts won’t blow your sequinned socks off if you aren’t acquainted with the raw material, however – and can stray too far into self-indulgence. This isn’t helped by the clunkiness of two performers finding their feet together on the run. Nonetheless, if you do your research first, it’s a fascinating foray into a life really lived.
Last performance Jan 16, Wharf 1, Sydney Theatre Company, $30-50, 1300 668 812, sydneyfestival.org.au
