Annie unrated

Annie unrated

Given the furore that greeted the announcement of his latest production, it seemed appropriate that the Star Observer spoke to Trevor Ashley on Transgender Remembrance Day.

Ashley’s Little Orphan Trashley, a Christmas panto opening at the Sydney Opera House on December 5, started life a few months back with another, now-infamous title: TrAnnie. By so naming the show, Ashley unwittingly exposed a schism that exists within the LGBTI community; while some gay boys and drag queens will happily bandy the word about, for others – particularly those in the trans community – it’s a deeply offensive term, loaded with a history of abuse and marginalisation.

“To me, everybody and everything is fair game in my shows – I don’t pardon any particular group. I certainly didn’t receive any backlash from anorexic ballerinas after [previous panto] Fat Swan. I don’t think this is any different to Fat Swan in that way, in that the humour is sometimes inappropriate but I don’t think it’s ever cruel or mean to a particular group,” Ashley said.

“I think the show’s much more offensive to particular individuals – people like Alan Jones, Kyle Sandilands and Miranda Devine have far more to worry about.”

As Ashley noted at the time, the show had managed to cause offense before it had even been written.

“At the time, we had a title and a blurb and that was what people were taking offense to. I saw a great synopsis of The Wizard of Oz that someone put on Facebook recently: ‘Young girl kills, then teams up with three others to kill again’. It shows you can twist anything [to make it offensive],” he sighed.

But the show must go on, albeit with a new, more inclusive title. Ashley’s recruited a swag of celebs to star alongside him in the cheeky panto: Rhys Bobridge as little orphan Fannie’s dog Bullshit, Gary Sweet as millionaire Daddy Warhorse, and Rhonda Burchmore as the drunken Miss Trannigan.

“Rhonda and I have been friends for years but never worked together, so this is very exciting for us. She’s absolutely brilliant and hilarious in the show – people are going to see a completely different side of her. And Gary Sweet? Thankfully he has a fabulous sense of humour so he said yes, which I was completely amazed at. You have to be brave to do a show like mine, because it is a bit filthy and out there.”

Jam-packed with jokes, pop culture references and musical detours from the past year, the show takes Annie as the basis of its story but, as with Fat Swan, veers off in some hilariously twisted directions. And audiences have been lapping it up, with 10pm late shows added across the run.

“I love the late-night shows, especially on a Friday night. Go down to Opera Bar straight after work, have a few drinks, then come in and see the show; it’s always a very raucous and loud bunch.”

INFO: Little Orphan Trashley, December 5-23, Sydney Opera House. www.sydneyoperahouse.com

You May Also Like

Comments are closed.