Hey! Yeah! It's Molly's Travelling Worm Show!

Photography c. Marnya Rothe

BY MELITA ROWSTON

'Follow your dreams… no matter how shit they are.'

Once upon a time, a tiny Victorian town called Korumburra faced perilous economic decline, until a group of locals decided to capitalise on what they had bigger and better than anyone else in the world – a giant worm.

One hundred metres of pink material, two golf buggy wheels and a roll of poly pipe later, Karmai, the giant pink worm puppet was born. Manipulated by hundreds of worm boys and girls, this blind, deaf and boneless folk hero took the world by storm!

Enchanted and disturbed by childhood memories of road trips to ‘Big Things’, your intrepid host Melita "Molly" Rowston goes on a fantastical journey into Worm Country.

Trapped in a cheap motel room with a talking tree and a mangy ostrich, Molly hopes to unearth a local legend that will teach her to live the life she once imagined.

Reminiscent of an 80’s variety TV show (Shirl’s Neighbourhood meets Twin Peaks), HEY! HEY! IT'S... MOLLY’S TRAVELLING WORM SHOW! is a colourful, kooky and dream-like celebration guaranteed to cure-all through the miraculous powers of self-belief and her own brand of Shit Tourism.

WARNING: contains puppetry, graphic depictions of Australian variety TV stars and bubbles. Souvenirs will be available for purchase.

“The result is a fitting tribute to tacky Australiana; everything is as big and not quite right as the box of goon that features regularly in the mise en scene… providing the audience some good laughs throughout… Rowston crams the hour-long show with hammy dialogue and physical humour, and we are always braced for a sudden gush of song and dance… always entertaining…. Molly’s adventure will surely draw a smile on your face.”

The Music (Melbourne), August, 2013.

CREATIVE TEAM:

Writer/Performer Melita Rowston

Director Phillip Rouse

Performer Narda Shanley

Puppeteer Benito Di Fonzo

Lighting/Effects Designer Richard Whitehouse

Production Assistant Fern George

Dramaturg Augusta Supple

Australian Premiere

14 August – 24 August 2013

Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne