Joan Collins goes to Wagga Wagga

Theatre forces Brent Thorpe and Billy O’Riordan are putting their heads together this Mardi Gras to bring you their own brand of deranged performances in Betcha Thought I Was Dead.

Playing at the Factory Theatre, the show follows acclaimed psychic guidance counsellor, registered psychologist and sex therapist Joan Collins as she travels to the Wagga Wagga Women’s Maximum Security Psychiatric Correctional Facility with her sidekick, Pony, a male stripper turned psych nurse.

We commit to never censoring or editing what’s in our heads, no matter how deranged or unthinkable something may be, Thorpe said. It mixes reality with the fantastic to create a magic realism where the performance is peppered with identities and celebrities from days gone by.

Once in the Facility they uncover Australian diva, rock goddess and federal Senate candidate, Joylene Thornbird Hairmouth, Big Shirley the Dapto Psycho and Crazy Brenda the Turramurra Terror, all of whom have been incarcerated there for the past twenty-six years.

All the characters are larger than life and archetypes which hopefully force the audience to scrutinise themselves because there is a big chunk of these mad dames in all of us. No matter how ordinary or extraordinary we might be as individuals we are all subject to common fears, hopes, despairs and ambitions, he said.

With each character, Thorpe wanted to push the message to never be afraid to be yourself no matter what the consequences may be.

And remember, those who forget the mistakes of history are condemned to relive the past, he said.

There’s also terrific music that provides a social commentary on the current Australian zeitgeist with specific reference to the GLBT community.

info: Betcha Thought I Was Dead is at the Factory Theatre from Tuesday 10 February until Sunday 22 February. Bookings on www.factorytheatre.com.au or call 9550 3666.