Pretty Raucous

The plays plot focuses on four young working class friends and lovers who are growing increasingly dissatisfied with their love lives and each other. Stephanie Lee, one of the actors in Mellow Yellow’s rendition of Reasons To Be Pretty, sees an appeal in watching the destruction of others’ relationships. “We’ve all had those sucky relationships and it’s amusing to watch it to happen to someone else,” she says. “This is an opportunity for us sick little humans to laugh at truth in its darkest form.”

LaBute’s play was a perfect fit for Mellow Yellow. “Mellow Yellow productions have a ‘black’ focus when it comes to the comedy we present, and who better to help us with our dark endeavours than LaBute, Americas highly colloquial dark horse of comedy,” explains Lee. 

They’ve got a few new folk on board for this production, as well as favourites sticking around for some fun. “Three members of the company are Mellow Yellow veterans: myself, Dayna Boase and Sam Burns-Warr. This year our newbies are lead man, Jason Schwab and director Mitchell Hunt, both fabulous and just as dirty as the rest of the bunch.”

This is Mellow Yellow’s first Fringe, and they’re clearly excited to get on board. “The cats at Fringe are beautiful people, totally supportive and charming and that’s why Fringe 2014 is going to rock,” says Lee.

This play is probably not one to take your mum along to, unless she’s into raunchy sexual slurs, face-crushing fights and “fish murder”. In fact, Lee lists ‘stunt fish’ as being the biggest challenge of putting on this show. Excited? Intrigued? Horrified? That sounds about right; enjoy the madness.

Reasons To Be Pretty
28 Sep — 4 Oct, Melbourne Fringe Festival, The Wilde