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Are you Batty?!?
11th
August 2008
By Eli Cooper
In a cave many
miles to the south
Lives a boy born with fangs in his mouth.
Sleeping until the fading light,
Flying through bloody dreams;
When he awakes the summer night is filled with screams.
Enter a cave and fall into a world of struggles and
madness.
Bat Boy is musical which was inspired by the Weekly
World News short stories which often involved a character who was
half bat- half boy. From the brilliant minds of writers Keythe
Farley and Brian Flemming and lyricist/ composer Laurence O’Keefe,
Bat Boy the Musical became on off- Broadway and West End success. It
opened on Halloween in 1997 to fabulous reviews and has since been
described as ‘an instant classic’ and ‘a giggling cult hit.’
 Bat
Boy follows the story of Rick, Ruthie and Ron- three seemingly
normal teenagers. As they linger near a cave they notice a figure.
An usual humanoid- the legendary Bat Boy. Acting out the Bat Boy
bites Ruthie’s neck and is captured and taken to their suburban
lives to be locked in a cage in the local Doctors living room. As
the story progresses, Doctor Parker his wife Meredith and his
daughter Shelley try to adapt Bat Boy (now christened Edgar) to
their ‘normal’ way of life. The rest of their community however
fears Bat Boy, and so begins the classic tale of life or death when
a community clashes with a family. Even the Bat Boy hopes to be
changed, believing in himself he can, and withholding his cravings
for blood. Without giving away any more of the plot- the story is a
comical but dramatic modern take on a very similar, heart felt
story.
What Bat Boy brings to the table however is the most
remarkable thing any audience member will hope to find- a sense of
no longer being alone in the world. Bat Boy, represents to me, the
struggle to be accepted in a world which demands perfection. When we
know there are people out there just to make us feel bad about
ourselves for being different, a show like Bat Boy comes along and
teaches us we can rise above and achieve our dreams- no matter how
different we are. Inside all of us, no matter how perfect, there is
a Bat Boy… (Or girl.)
Octave Theatre brings to life the legend of the Bat
Boy. A story of love, acceptance and wild fun with a little bit of
bite. Octave, who has brought us such productions as A New Brain and
Songs for a New World, is a well presented Theatre Company who
strive for perfection and always come up with the goods. Their
approach to theatre is innovative and refreshing, always keeping
their audiences wondering what they will do next.
 Theatre
People spoke with Director Rebecca Holcdorf about the upcoming
production: “It is a dark show with some pretty dark themes, so
we've gone for a sort of Tim Burton-esque vibe. We sat and watched a
few Burton films (Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, Batman Forever)
to get some ideas about the look of the show.
“Also, we're very aware of the fact that Bat Boy can be done with a
focus on the comedy or a focus more on the drama. We think the
humour is there more to punctuate the story and to add a bit of
quirkiness. So we've tried not to focus too much on it - rather just
let it be there as one of many layers.
“The Bat Boy experience so far has been absolutely magical. The cast
is any director's dream cast - a plethora of talent and a cohesive
group in which everyone wants to work as hard as possible and
contribute everything they can to the show. Everyone has been
fantastic - very direct-able while still bringing a lot of
themselves to the characters.
“The experience with the actual show has also been wonderful. It's
the sort of story that is so dense that you find new excitements in
it all the time, and I have found myself going on a journey with the
show and learning more and more about it as I go.
“As far as highlights go, I don't want to give too much away, but my
favourite thing about this show is the powerful message. I used to
read Aesop's Fables all the time when I was a kid, and this story is
very much a fable to me. I really want the audience to get swept up
by the characters, and not worry too much about silly things like
how far-fetched the story is. Just like a fable, it is fictional,
and it's not trying to be realistic - it's trying to teach a moral
lesson.
 “There
are some really intense moments in the show (again, I don't want to
give anything away) and they are carried off by some seriously
talented performers in this cast. The beauty of this cast is that
nobody is there just because they can sing and I think the acting
performances are outstanding.
Don’t miss this highly anticipated season brought to you from the
Guild Award Nominated production team of Rebecca Holcdorf and
Jonathan Skovron.
August 20 – 24 at
Chapel off Chapel (12 Little Chapel St, Prahran)
Wednesday –
Saturday 8pm, Sunday 6pm
Tickets $31
(full), $27 (concession), $26 (groups of 10+)
Thursday and
Friday: ALL TICKETS $25
BOOK NOW ON 8290
7000 or
www.chapeloffchapel.com.au
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