The Farm’s ‘Stunt Double’ at HOTA || Gavin Webber

The Fame Reporter interviewed Artistic Director of Gold Coast contemporary dance and performance company, ‘The Farm’, Gavin Webber. Gavin is also the Co-creator, Writer and Performer of brand-new Australian work ‘Stunt Double‘ about the glamorous chaos of the film industry, playing at Home of the Arts (HOTA), Gold Coast for ONE NIGHT ONLY on Saturday, 9 March.

Stunt Double is a jaw-dropping immersive theatre experience bringing audiences inside the filming of a 1970s Aussie action flick.

Cycling through take after take of high octane stunts; flips, jumps, fights and more; the doubles put their body on the line while the actors reap the glory. In Stunt Double, it’s the hardest working people who get paid the least and exploited the most. Sound familiar? Well that’s because some things never change.

The show is a hilarious tongue in cheek dive into the complex and absurd power dynamics of the film industry, into exploitation as a blood sport; and the human cost of celebrity and our quest to come out on top.

Inspired by films such as Wake In Fright, Razorback and BMX Bandits, Stunt Double is sure to be an unforgettable ride, and yet another genre-bending blockbuster by groundbreaking dance and theatre collective, The Farm.

We had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Artistic Director of ‘The Farm’, Gavin Webber, starring in the innovative and immersive theatre show, Stunt Double, how the show draws inspiration from iconic Aussie films, celebrating the theatrical company’s 10th anniversary and more.

Welcome to The Fame Reporter, what was the inspiration behind “Stunt Double” and how it captures the essence of 1970s Aussie action flicks?
5 people in lockdown talking about what to do next. That was our beginning point. The world was in turmoil and we were talking a lot about power and how it plays out in the world.

Our company works as a collective. We have multiple artistic directors and we create shows without a director. It’s a sometimes chaotic but always rich and fruitful process that is built from our collective rejection of hierarchical processes.

That’s what underpins ‘Stunt Double’, our desire to find a better way to be together in the world, without damaging power structures that means one person suffers for another’s success.

All that and a deep love of B-grade cinema. Once we landed on the idea of the inequality of a stunt double and their star, we went to town on the 70’s Ozploitation era action flick. We watched a whole bunch of movies and started to work out how we could represent that onstage.

In the end we knew we needed a cast and crew, so we decided we would get audience volunteers to help us out. We embraced the chaos of maverick film making, where there might be a schedule but in the end it’s a bit of a shonky sh*t show.

The show delves into the power dynamics of the film industry and exploitation as a blood sport. How does “Stunt Double” navigate these themes, and what messages or commentary does it offer about the human cost of celebrity?
We use entertainment as a device to distract our audience from what’s really happening. There’s a lot of action and laughs in this show but underneath, in the underbelly, there’s a lot of other stuff happening.

Sometimes we surprise our audience because they are inevitably taken along for the ride of the fun and stunts. A lot of our core artists spent time in Germany, and over there, in the theatre scene, there’s a deep distrust of entertainment because they see it as a kind of propaganda.

The first show we toured in Germany we had someone say afterwards “I really loved the show but I have to say, I found it entertaining.” That was our first window into the idea of entertainment having negative connotations. It’s definitely something we’re using in Stunt Double.

Given the immersive nature of the theatre experience, how does “Stunt Double” involve the audience in the filming process of the action sequences? Can you share some examples of the high-octane stunts that audiences can expect?
There’s a mutant dingo attack on a cricket luncheon, a car chase fight scene, and a classic pub fight. The audience participate as pub extras, picnickers and of course mutant dingoes. Others form our crew so we have a clapper, boom operator, make up, etc.

There’s great fun in the audience not really knowing their roles and having to learn on the job. We also wanted to ensure we made all of us complicit in what was happening, as participants as well as observers, so it’s important the audience see themselves up there onstage.

The show highlights the disparity between the hardworking stunt doubles and the glory received by the actors. How is this dynamic portrayed in the performance, and what aspects of the film industry are satirized or humorously examined?
I play Patrick Patterson, the hard man of Aussie cinema who is doing nothing but screwing up his lines and causing grief for everyone, especially his stunt double, who I sometimes think he’s not even aware of. We spent a lot of time with stunt action performers, Carly Rees and Marco Sinigaglia. They gave us a lot of information and personal stories that became the bedrock of our production.

One of the things I remember vividly was asking if actors ever thought they did the stunts themselves when the stunt performer was involved, and they said absolutely that can happen.

What you see onscreen is only the actor, the double is doing everything they can to disappear. They are edited out, their face always hidden. The actor pops up from behind the couch, with spray on sweat and a heroic look. It’s not a stretch to imagine that hero thinking they “always do their own stunts.”

How does “Stunt Double” balance humor with the more serious themes it explores?
This is a hallmark of our company. We are always finding a balance between humour and serious topics and we like to use humour to lead people into a maze of complexity where the answers are not so simple. Life is complicated and we are also. We can laugh and be gutted by something all in the same breath.

We just treat our audience as complex individuals who can balance multiple responses to a single event.

In what ways does “Stunt Double” draw inspiration from iconic Aussie films like Wake In Fright, Razorback, and BMX Bandits? Are there specific elements or references that fans of these films will appreciate?
Razorback was big for our design team. Even though it’s actually 1980, not the 70’s, it has a lot of indoor film sets and is totally stylised and over the top. A lot of the 70’s movies were filmed outside, driving up and down roads in rural Victoria. We obviously are also inside so Razorback’s look became a bit iconic for us.

Wake in Fright’s pub scenes and hard drinking culture was definitely a reference point as well, but generally we made up our own world in “Dusty Narrabingara” and we went for all the tropes from all the movies we love. There’s not a lot of BMX Bandits though, Nicole Kidman wouldn’t answer our calls.

The Farm is described as a groundbreaking dance and theatre collective. How does their unique approach and style contribute to the overall experience of “Stunt Double,” and what sets it apart from other immersive theatre productions?
As I said it’s the way we collaborate that’s most important and embedded in the show.

By allowing every voice to be heard in the room and letting the show become the director of all of us, we create a rich and detailed world which benefits from everyone’s imagination.

The show encourages attendees to “make a night of it” with live music, a terrace party, and a 70s-style dress code. How do these elements enhance the overall experience, and what can audience members expect from the pre and post-show festivities?
To celebrate an act of theatre with us and feel involved. We are the Gold Coast’s own company, kicking goals and touring all over the country with this show.

We want people to come out and be a part of it. We spend enough time sitting at home flicking through Netflix, so a little participation goes a long way these days.

As part of the 10th-anniversary celebration for The Farm, how has the collective evolved over the years, and what milestones or achievements have shaped its identity in the world of dance and theatre?
We’ve become recognised for our bravery within the arts industry. These days to run an arts company you have to be very strategic and business savvy. That can lead to playing it safe and repeating the things that are successful. We don’t do that.

Every show is different from the next and we are always raising the bar on each other, challenging ourselves to do the things that excite all of us and never resting on our laurels.

From a 48 hour durational improvisation on a sandbar to a drive in B-grade horror performance in a showground, to incredibly personal auto-biographical stories, to Stunt Double, we’re always trying to show people what live art has to offer the world.