The duration performance by Boomers and Company took place at the Judith Wright Centre, Fortitude Valley. Performed by Wendy Mcphee and Glen Murray, the work involves two characters – Truth, played by Murray and Dare by Mcphee in a chaotic game of truth or dare.
The pair describe the work as a chaotic attempt at telling the truth by two people who are locked in a desperate and risky game of salvation. The game runs for the entirety of the performance with the final act a lethal game of Spin the Gun.
Audience members were encouraged to partake in the game, and required to fake their death upon defeat.
The performance was filled with 1940s nostalgia with carnival-esque costumes and classical dance routines. This enlisted an eerie combination of laughter and discomfort by audience members who were then encouraged to throw fruit at Mcphee’s revolving clown head.
The production ends with one of the protagonists being dragged off stage, presumably dead. Most uncomfortable was the hysterical laughter by fellow performer during the lead up to the scene.
The absurdist carnival style only added to feelings of discomfort, like when female lead Dare laughs hysterically at the crippling state of her fellow protagonist, who seems stuck in an episode of depression. The high energy performance and charisma of the two protagonists drew spells of laughter that were quickly followed by looks of sympathy and despair.
The reactions were linked to the explicit nature of ageing and finding reasons to live the performance enacted. At the end of the production, both performers candidly discuss how the creative process has given them a reason to live.
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