03 October 2015

MELBOURNE FRINGE: Suburbia

Suburbia
26 September 2015
Fringe Hub, in a Honda Jazz
to 3 October
melbournefringe.com.au



From genuinely unnerving to simply gorgeous, Suburbia was one of my favourite experiences at the Fringe.

It's also been sold out for days.

The audience of three – the other two with me were on a date; I hope they stay together for ever and always remember this night – get into the back seat of a Honda Jazz and a silent driver presses play on the CD player and takes off around the lanes, back streets and glad-to-be-in-a-car dead ends.

Along the way we see parts of street scenes of violence, love, comfort and Christmas puddings. Drivers change, we taken to parts of the area that I didn't know existed, and we're eventually asked to get out the car...

I'd have loved to see more of link between the vignettes but part of the experience is imagining the story that might be going on, especially as some the most wonderful moments were when real life intruded: a train going past, a dog on a leash pooing, a balcony of people filming with their phones.