Bending The Rules

“It's like a failed social experiment,” says Anthony Noake, about his new comedy show for Fringe, Banana Republic. A shared house turns into a commune while an unemployed slacker becomes an Internet entrepreneur and invests the household's kitty are just two examples of the oddball happenings in the show.

“A group of friends are getting their head around what goes on in the world,”explains Noake. “I didn't want to write a play using issues in the objective way, but all that discussion about world issues plays out through the characters' interactions, through the living and the telling.” Are there any issues that Noake feels particularly passionate about? “I haven't made it about one issue,” he says. “There are a lot of little things that play out – things like plastics, pollution, wastes going into the ocean – there are passing references in the play to these things. Comedy is a great way to approach these issues. Make them funny.” What made him set the play in a shared house situation? “Early on, I decided that. The household experiences a mini-Global Financial Crisis. It was always part of the premise. A shared house is a common, identifiable space that as a launch pad to look at these issues. ”

“The show is fantastically funny,” comments director Iris Gaillard. “A brilliant comedy. It's rare to have a political comedy with a good background, with good content and form.” Gaillard describes Noake's writing as “very performative”. The two discovered in rehearsal that Banana Republic contained elements of a sitcom, and so decided to bring that element into the work, staging the play as TV,  thereby adding another layer of laughs and another level of audience experience. The audience gets to be, well, a live audience, with all which that entails. “It's an efficient way to do it,” says Gaillard. “Banana Republic crosses between two genres. The audience is not in front of a finished product, they are part of the recording. The TV set is completely part of the show.” Audiences are subjected to different expectations when part of a live sitcom show. “I found that out when I was part of a sitcom audience. The audience is completely part of the show. The show needs you. Theatre audiences are not expected to have the same reactions.” How does Gaillard indicate which type of audience engagement she wants? “I don't explain much,” she says.” I let the people live the experience. As a device I have a voice-over that leads you into the experience.”

Noake works as a stage and construction manager, which puts him in good stead with this show and its logistical demands. There's a lot to pull together. “It's a big production, with the sound design, the camera, the actors' work,” notes Gaillard. “I have to direct the actors, the camera, the sounds.” Her biggest challenge, she reckons, at one week away from opening night, is waiting on audience reactions.

So is there any hope for the world? “There is in a way,” says Noake. “The fact that we have desire to do something about these issues; there is expressed desire to do something. Where there's desire, there's hope.”