Cassie Workman’s You Are Here was one of those Perth Comedy Festival shows that leaves you laughing one moment and quietly reflecting the next. Performed to a sold out crowd in the basement of The Rechabite, the intimate setting perfectly suited the surreal and deeply personal storytelling unfolding on stage.
Set inside a fictional West Valley Shopping Centre in 1980s New Jersey, the show quickly transports the audience into a strange and imaginative world where talking stags roam and the entire mall seems to come alive. It’s bizarre, theatrical and wonderfully creative, yet beneath the absurdity sits a powerful metaphor about identity, belonging and the search for home.
As Cassie explains through the story, finding your way home is not always about returning to where you started.
What makes You Are Here so memorable is the balance between humour and honesty. One moment the audience is laughing at the chaos of the mall characters, the next you are pulled into deeper themes surrounding capitalism, fascism and human connection. It’s entertaining throughout, but also raw, vulnerable and surprisingly emotional.
Cassie’s stage presence is magnetic. Alongside the storytelling, they deliver live music throughout the performance, confidently playing keyboard and breaking into songs that feel both hilarious and hauntingly thoughtful. The musical elements add another layer to the experience and keep the audience completely engaged.
A small piece of advice for future attendees — if prolonged direct eye contact makes you uncomfortable, perhaps avoid the front rows. Cassie has no problem locking eyes with audience members during key moments.
Strange, clever and deeply thought-provoking, You Are Here is storytelling comedy at its most imaginative.