100 Years Of Lizards

Name and Role: Patrick Lenton - Writer.

Plug your show! 100 Years Of Lizards has everything you could possibly want – songs about torture, creepy interspecies love affairs, and a drag queen travel host who eats rare animals in order to gain immortality. A classic tale, really.

Where did the idea for your show come from? I was once asked me what I thought the most boring title for a show would be, and I answered 100 Years Of Lizards. After that, I knew I had to write it. I developed the show on Cockatoo Island with the Sexy Tales Comedy Collective as part of the Underbelly Arts Festival Public Lab. We then took it to Newcastle for Cracked Theatre Festival. We then had a fully prepared show for the Adelaide Fringe earlier this year.

What have the past few months or so been like in the lead-up to Fringe? For me it's been remarkably easy – the script had already been finished by the Adelaide Fringe in January. But the directors and actors have been busy, doing their thing.

What inspires you artistically? I like laughing at how weird the world is. Everything around us is horrifyingly strange, but people tend to stop noticing it. This is the basic underlying message of my writing – there is some odd stuff happening.

What the most cringe-worthy thing you've seen on stage? I once performed a monologue from the perspective of a Pokemon who never got chosen to battle. That was pretty awful.

What other shows are you looking forward to at this year's Fringe? Esque, which is occurring at the New Theatre with Lizards... looks amazing, and involves some superb artists. I also can't wait to see the stand up talents of Ben Jenkins, Alex Lee and David Cunningham, who I am big fans of.

What excites you about being involved in the Sydney Fringe 2012? Sydney has such a vibrant artistic scene and the Fringe gives artists a chance to try something new and different.

WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 20 to Wednesday 26 September, New Theatre