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Fringe is my favourite time of year. I am always astounded by how Perth gets absolutely flooded with creative talent. Our stalwarts are out in full force and we have fresh faces giving their all to entertain.
However, with the rising financial pressures, people are less willing to take a chance on less established artists. You can’t blame them. Why bet on an unknown when you have shows and artists with years of experience to rely on?
Well, consider this my PSA to you – Bibbity Bobbity Boorloo is absolutely worth the punt.
The premise is simple. A princess from a far away land wishes to see the beautiful Australian beaches. Bibbity Bobbity Boorloo, and she finds herself in the office of a weary border force officer, waiting to be processed.
The Princess (yes that’s her full name) is saccharine mix of naivete and pure-heartedness. Amy Fortnum portrays her wide eyed wonder and confusion over real life perfecly. In fact, watching her process the new information being fed to her by the officer, Nicole, made me silently giggle.
Even though it is totally on brand for a fairytale princess to break out into song, I was not expecting any singing in this production. So imagine my surprise and delight to hear Amy break out her sweet, clear, melodic voice.
This delicious dynamic between the fresh faced “tourist” and seasoned officer is ripe with comedy.
The Princess has never had to deal with the paperwork of beauracracy. That alone generated enough comic frustration for the audience to chuckle at. And we haven’t even gotten to the fluffy friends that The Princess has unwittingly smuggled into the country…
I would have been perfectly fine if this show focused completely on the “stranger in a new land” comedy trope. I mean, how preposterously funny is it to see a goody goody princess learn how carthatic swearing is?
However, the show brings more depth by also slowly shifting the relationship between The Princess and Nicole.
I won’t give away all the details but I will say this. That they managed to this within the constraints of a the sixty minute run time while making it seem completely natural, deserves kudos.
While I feel that the play ended abruptly. that was not because of the storyline. I felt that way because I was hungry for more.
So you can bet your bibbity, bobbity Boorloo that I’ll be keeping an eye on Brightside Productions. I’d love to see more of The Princess and Nicole in the future.