My Favourite Moments of ff2010…

Less than a handful of sleeps before my first show of 2011 now… The Schedule has been Shortlisted, the first batch of tickets has been bought, and I’m starting to get a bit excited about things. But I remembered a fragment of a post I wrote during the Festival Month last year, and I wanted to just put it out there…

My Favourite Moments of ff2010. The memories of that assault that I’ll never forget, for good or for ill (mostly good).

• The closing seconds of Freefall. Oh my. I don’t reckon I’ve ever been affected like that before. It still makes me tear up in joyous recollection.
• The murder of Macduff’s child in Vs Macbeth. Blimey. So… blunt. Heartless. Vicious. Cold. Simple.
• The opening blast of Mahler 8. I’m pretty sure it knocked a filling out of one of my teeth.
• The appearance of the Faecal Security Force in Le Grand Macabre. Because sometimes you just need to go to a bowel-tastic nightclub.
• Megan Washington pulling away from the mike during her Grab Bag appearance. Absolutely mesmerising; you could’ve heard a pin drop before the cacophony of clapping started.
• The applause for my meagre contribution to Dr. Brown Behaves. God that felt good. That must be why these people hop on stage!
• “It’s just a box!” yelled the young lad, anxious to get Bubblewrap and Boxes moving. Patience, boy.
• The opening of Bully. Brutal.
• “I enter with conviction…” / “I enter tentatively…” Accompanied by forceful stamps and willowy swirls, these phrases helped make This Is A Play a hilarious highlight.
• Taking a break in Amococo. Just because I forced myself to take a break and just sit awhile. A bit of meditation, taking photos for families… it was all good.

And one other odd thing that added a unique flair on the year: every day I walked into the city from my old North Adelaide abode, my first destination was almost always either the Fringe Office on Hindley Street, or the FringeTIX office next to the Palace. In both cases, the first seven tracks of St. Vincent’s album Actor were the perfect fit for the travel. Close the front door to the opening choral strains of The Strangers; arrive at my destination as Marrow blusters to its conclusion. I love those seven songs, I really do – and they fact that they seemed to fit my life so perfectly for that month was almost unbelievable. Go on, give that album a bash – here’s an iTunes link.