Bananaland! When we saw the title of this show, we were curious about the premise of the production, but that added to the mystery and intrigue of the World Premiere of this entirely original Australian musical comedy at the Playhouse Theatre, QPAC. Part of the Brisbane Festival the new story about an alternative young Australian political/emo band, Kitty Litter turned children’s entertainment act was recognised by the Brisbane audience with love, laughter, and an instantaneous standing ovation for its opening night performance.
It was phenomenal that the creative team behind the fan favourite Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Keir Nuttall, Kate Miller-Heidke and Director Simon Phillips scratched out a unique story for a new home-grown musical, having no idea whether it would gel with the populous.
Well, we certainly felt the heart and hilarity in this very specific Australian script and the universal themes. Including not feeling good enough, the unwavering bond of sibling relationships, and the desire to find one’s purpose or passion in life.
The tale followed a non-popular band or as the lead singer/songwriter Ruby Semblance described it, an ‘Onstage Conceptual Art Slash Music Oriented Happening’, that toured around regional Australia for 4 years and had one fan to their name.
One day, they were in the small Queensland country town of Goondiwindi and found out they had sold out their afternoon show. Soon, to discover one of their songs that they thought was a rock political statement about Clive Palmer, ‘Bananaland’ was thought of as kids song and soared through the children’s top hits on Spotify. Hilarity then ensued as they immortalised the idea of giving in to what made them successful.
This production was an outstanding piece of original theatre that Australia needs more of. The show would be nothing without the committed cast of real and unique characters.
The main protagonist leader of the indie band at 21 years old, Ruby Semblance, was played by the unstoppable Max Mckenna. Max starred in another one of Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall’s masterpieces as the title character of Muriel in Muriel’s Wedding The Musical.
Max was perfect for this role of Ruby, and it was so relatable. Trying to reach your dreams and not have a plan B is what a lot of us crave. Max’s desire, anxiousness, and sarcasm were so present during the show.
Their vocals were breathtaking as they performed the heartfelt new songs like ‘True North’ and ‘Fallback.’ They put you inside the young artist’s head whilst grappling with the trials of adulthood and turning the politically world-changing tunes into ‘Wiggles-esque’ kids bops. It was refreshing to see the juxtaposition between the two worlds.
Another enticing and powerful performance was by Queenslander, Georgina Hopson, who played Ruby’s older sister Karen Semblance. Her presence on stage was captivating as the hardworking, relatable Mother with her young son, Toby. Her ballad dedicated to her boy was so real and vulnerable as she showcased with her beautiful voice what it meant to be a parent working away from her kid while on tour, as her partner Lily was the stay-at-home Mum of the two.
Georgina illustrated her generous spirit and talent for comedic timing with her dry sense of humour with the band. The most special and vital relationship in our opinion was the bond between the two sisters Ruby and Karen as they shared their childhood trauma with the attentive audience through the story. Our favourite song and the heart of the narrative was the number, ‘Grow up and be kids.’ This song was captivating and uplifting and showed how important siblings are to each other, especially these sisters, it was brilliant to witness on stage.
The hilarious and hopeful character of Ex was personified by the incomparable theatre superstar Maxwell Simon. Maxwell lept off the stage as his killer personality shone through as the sometimes daft and otherworldly band member with his left of field ideas and incredible one-liners. Maxwell was playing Ex as a maverick. He didn’t think as other people did and was delightfully comical as his character had a crush on Ruby since the first time he saw her.
When the band was moving into the kids market, obviously had to be renamed the Wikki Wikki Wah Wah’s, Ex was left with the unpopular role of being in the mammoth dog suit, similar to ‘Wags’ the dog from the ‘Wiggles’. However, he made it his own and couldn’t part with it even to sleep. Maxwell was incredible in this role and even nailed the only song in the show that all the lyrics were ‘woofs’, which was sad but the audience was absolutely able to understand it without a word of English.
To round out the unlikely band was Ruby’s lover, Seb Kale, performed by the fun-loving actor Joe Kalou. Joe played an incredibly positive guy who loved playing in the rock band but also cared about wellness and getting fit. He wanted what was right for all involved and thought of the idea to actually become a kids singing group, and his personality fit that role perfectly.
A standout hilarious moment for him was the scene when he was in the shower and singing a song about his social media following and flexing his muscles in the gym. He was a typical millennial / gen Z cusp as he sent nudes to his lover Ruby. Joe’s talent shone through as the ambitious but kind persona on stage who was more into entertaining kids and being successful than failing as the alt group, Kitty Litter.
The one-of-a-kind, Dave Eastgate, who also starred in Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, took on the iconic role of the Goondiwindi local band room’s sound engineer, Ron Delbridge. Dave left the audience in stitches cackling themselves all the way to the carpark. His character was the typical Aussie Boomer. We caught him at the start serving meattray’s at the local RSL down the road.
Ron The Roadie, as he was later referred to when he got further involved in the band, couldn’t have been more Australian if he tried. His accent as he made a long sentence into one word, the way he bossed his kid around, dressing up like a Kookaburra at the conclusion of the show and more.
The lovable Australian theatre performer Chris Ryan embodied a multitude of roles, the most notable being Stephen King, Kitty Litter’s number one and only fan. The character’s real name was Darren but the band coined ‘Stephen King’ due to his creepy resemblance to the horror author.
The way Chris really fleshed out the character to show how nerdy and nervous he was by adding a lisp to his speech and the comical physicality of kicking his bottom while jogging almost on the spot while he talked to Ruby or the band. Chris also gifted the audience with his performance of the song ‘Stephen King’, as it described the big fan in all of us and only a handful that see shows multiple times and how it made him feel like he belonged somewhere.
Other highlights for Chris was when he played ‘Pikelets the cat’ and he put on the huge cat suit, and they said this is what too much LSD can do to a person. Then, of course, Chris’ uncanny and on point performance as a Karl Stefanovic persona on a morning talk show as Ruby became passive aggressive towards the co-hosts, it was unreal and the audience lapped it up.
Amber McMahon also breathed life into a myriad of characters with some of the funniest performances I had witnessed in years. Amber’s main role as stage legend Mimsi Borogroves was wild, unhinged, and intoxicatingly entertaining as she aimed to help the band not become a parent’s worst nightmare with her bouncy 70s hair.
Jessie Jam Jar, the method children’s entertainer with ‘Pikelets the Cat’ were like they hadn’t been let out of the toy box for 20 years. The voices were so versatile that she used for roles. They were so different, representing a variety of Aussies, especially with Witney Walkman. It was more of an Aussie rich Bulimba Mum accent. Amber exaggerated the movements and words, but they were very on-the-nose versions of typical Australians.
Congratulations to the hard-working crew and orchestra of this show, including the band mates, including Terri and Terry, their silent drummer and bass player. Shoutout to the Standby cast, Erika Naddei and Mark Hill, for having incredible talent, and I’m sure they will enjoy themselves when they go on stage.
This completely original Australian musical comedy needs to be seen by the rest of Australia! ‘BANANALAND is now playing at the Playhouse Theatre, QPAC until 1 October and we want the damn album stat to listen to on repeat, it is mesmerising and the voices are out of this world. You don’t want to miss the opportunity to enjoy this relatable, emotive, hilarious, true blue, live stage experience like nothing you have seen before!
TICKETS || Playhouse Theatre, QPAC
Playing now until 1 October
All images supplied.
The Fame Reporter 