For those of us who have watched Bangalow Theatre Company (BTC) grow over the years – from COVID-inspired roving pop-up events to risk-taking contemporary works – there has always been a sense that something special is happening here. But their latest foray hits different.
When Australian composer, performer and writer Eddie Perfect – the Tony-nominated creator of Broadway’s Beetlejuice the Musical and King Kong – chooses to redevelop a work with a regional company, you take notice. When he then hands that company the keys to premiere the newly reimagined production, you realise you are witnessing something big.
And 19-28 March, BTC will present Vivid White at Brunswick Picture House, a newly imagined work that evolved from an intimate and interactive workshop process with Eddie Perfect himself.
For Bangalow’s Joel Cooper (who plays celebrity architect Evan Prescott and co-produced the development phase) – the journey has been extraordinary.
“It has been incredible on so many levels,” he says. “For the company to be working so intimately and closely with Eddie – someone of his esteem – has just been so amazing.”
The relationship began with BTC’s production of Eddie’s play The Beast, directed by BTC co-founder and fellow Bangalow resident Anouska Gammon. That bold, left-field work struck a chord with Northern Rivers audiences and went on to earn multiple awards and widespread recognition, cementing BTC’s reputation for ambitious, intelligent theatre.
“The Beast really translated well for our local audiences,” Joel says. “They are receiving new theatre in a really open way, and that’s exciting.”
That openness planted a seed.
Eddie first wrote a version of Vivid White for Melbourne Theatre Company in 2017 but had always felt passionate about reworking and revisiting the piece, giving it more time in the creative development space. “The stars aligned when he saw that BTC was performing The Beast and he called Anouska and offered BTC the opportunity to be the vessel of redevelopment of the work.
A small cast assembled for a workshop process that was anything but routine. Eddie arrived with new material, rewrites and songs still taking shape. The work was a living, breathing, pulsing project that fused enthusiasm and experience in an organic and compelling way.
“He was writing songs in the space with us,” Joel says. “The outcome was to complete the show and see some new ideas and new character arcs and how they would land within the context of the work. We were just blown away.”
Importantly, the workshop was not a guarantee of performance rights. “It was never like, let’s workshop this and then you can do it,” Joel explains. “There were still a lot of questions around the show, and the future of the piece remained in Eddie’s hands.”
But the BTC held quiet hopes that they would be entrusted to light up the piece on stage for its debut.
Months later, after Eddie had stepped into the title role of Beetlejuice in Australia, BTC reached out again.
“There was a moment where we, as a theatre company, said ‘We really want to do this. We think we can tackle this,’” Joel says. Anouska spoke to Eddie and “And he said, let’s do it. Let’s take it to season.”
For a volunteer-driven regional company, that trust speaks volumes – and reflects the strength of leadership within BTC. Under Anouska’s direction, the company has consistently embraced challenging, contemporary work while nurturing a deep well of local talent.
“We’re all volunteers pouring our heart and soul into it. To be recognised at that level and for Eddie to trust us in that process was phenomenal,” Joel says.
Even now, the shape of the show is transmuting. Songs have shifted. The ending has been transfigured more than once.
“The piece is alive,” Joel says. “Eddie and Anouska and the creative team are back and forth every week. ‘How did this land? How is this song working?’ We’ve just flipped the ending again and now have this fabulous, hilarious ending song that was never in the iteration of the show.”
For BTC, this process has tapped into a collaborative flow-state fuelled by creative resonance.
“Bangalow Theatre Company has never had to work like this – being so agile and having the writer be such an active part of the whole production timeline.”
The play follows two university friends who have taken vastly different paths: Evan Prescott (played by Joel), now a television celebrity architect, and his former peer, who has wound up working in community housing. The tension erupts at a house auction, and much tension pivots on the extreme collision between renters and buyers – particularly poignant in the midst of a housing crisis.
“It’s very topical,” Joel says. “It leans into the issue of housing and will make people feel uncomfortable – not in a negative way, but in a holding-a-mirror-up-to-society way.”
His character, Evan, walks that fault line.
“Evan has had to succeed in the world as it is, not in the world as it should be,” says Joel quoting a line from the play.
“He’s constantly in turmoil between two worlds,” Joel says. “He’s got the success, the money, the richness, but he’s watching the world he knew crumble away.”
At its heart, Vivid White is a satire about property, ambition and the Australian dream. The title itself references the Dulux paint colour – a nod to renovation culture and aspirational aesthetics that is so synonymous with our postcode.
Like Perfect’s earlier works, the show tackles big ideas through satire and comedy rather than didacticism.
“It’s these big topics all painted in the stroke of satire and comedy,” Joel says. “We hope the audience leaves feeling inspired and challenged, but they’ve also had an absolutely raucous night at the theatre.”
For theatre lovers in the Northern Rivers, this production is more than a season announcement. It is evidence of the calibre of talent working quietly – and now not so quietly – in our region.
To workshop a major musical with a Broadway-calibre Australian artist is rare. To premiere the finished work is extraordinary.
For Bangalow Theatre Company, it is both a milestone and a statement: regional theatre can be fearless, sophisticated and significant.
And for those of us lucky enough to sit in the audience, it promises to be a blindingly good night out.
Sally Schofield
Vivid White
19 – 28 March Brunswick Picture House
brunswickpicturehouse.com
Presented by Bangalow Theatre Company and Brunswick Picture House