THEATRE: THAT OLD CHESTNUT

“I think bands have more fun than theatre companies, generally.” Really? But there’s all those actors running around and you get to dress up and ‘be’ someone else! Well, according to Michael Booth, theatre directors – with all their rules and ah, directions have taken the fun out of performance, so That Old Chestnut, written by Booth and performed by Cathode Ray Tube (the theatre collective created by him and two friends) is their experiment without one. Booth tells me, “There are so many advantages to not having a director. Like a jazz band, we are tight because while a jazz band may seem unpolished or may seem kind of messy or spontaneous, they’re free so that anything might happen.” So rather than have one person instruct their performance, Cathode Ray Tube lets their actors ‘act’ intuitively from the script and the drama that ensues dissolves that fourth wall and is captivating. This tale of cheating, lying and love has already been tested on sold out crowds in the back room of a dingy Surry Hills pub and there’s nothing like enjoying the familiarity of your own city in a new piece of theatre. Actors just want to have fun, you should go along and have some too.

Jun 15–Jul 10, Old Fitzroy Theatre, cnr Cathedral St & Dowling St Woolloomooloo, $21-35, 1300 438 849, rocksurfers.org