SYDNEY FRINGE: RE:LEASE
re:Lease is the debut collaborative love child of FishWife, a brand-new theatre company formed by local creatives Aarin Starkey and Anna Chase. We spoke to the duo ahead of their Sydney Fringe Festival opening night.
Where did the inspiration for re:Lease come from? We wanted to explore the concept of power and control – how it’s so temporary and fictitious and can be overturned if you just challenge it. We were drawing from things happening in our lives at the time. We were both working in bleak office jobs and we thought how EASY it would be to break down the power dynamics, just by one simple action. Aarin was particularly bitter and jaded trying to find a house and he channeled all that aggression into this real estate playing ground.
What can we actually expect to happen on this ‘strange and ridiculous journey’? Without giving too much away, the play re:Lease follows the story of three young chaps who have escaped from their country town of Munkinbuden and are attempting to find solace in the domesticated confines of the coveted Manky Creek Estate. Helen Gayle Waters is the real estate agent they deal with who is not all that she seems. Her unstable brain can switch from composed sickly sweetness to ferocious demon at any second. The play follows Helen’s throbbing control – over her tenants and her secret minion. The story creates an undulating landscape of wordy witticisms that spirals off from our own world into a bent universe with its own rules and internal logic.
What are the challenges in writing a black comedy? You have to make sure that you can have your twists and your satire without being alienating. The audience needs to ride along with the characters – no matter how surreal the journey becomes there HAS to be a connection with the audience and a sense of relatability.
How has the Sydney Fringe changed the landscape for emerging creatives? It’s our first time in the Sydney Fringe which is an amazing platform for emerging playwrights, comedians and actors. The Fringe provides a great opportunity to showcase new work. It’s encouraging and inspiring to know that it’s not about who you know – it’s about what you can do! FishWife are excited to unleash our wild and ridiculous creation into the world.
Sep 8-11 & 15-18, PACT Theatre, 107 Railway Pde, Erskineville, $17, thesydneyfringe.com.au
