Queensland Theatre Company is launching it's world premier of 'Brisbane', a coming-of-age tale with moments of sublime comedy amid a heartfelt tale of a family fragmented by tragedy, as a centenary tribute for our ANZACs.
The epic show explores a part of Brisbane's history that where it was on the world stage for quite a while during World War II in 1942. There was a lot going on in Australia: American soldiers and frontline combat in Brisbane itself, Japanese subs in the mouth of the Brisbane River and Japanese planes flying over Toowoomba. With all this action around Brisbane, Queensland Theatre Company's Matthew Ryan wanted to explore the war through the lens of a small family, telling the story through the eyes of 14-year-old Danny Fisher, played by Dash Kruck.
You may recognise Dash from his extensive repertoire, taking part in productions with Oscar Theatre Company and Queensland Theatre Company, and starring in film and television roles such as 'Pipsqueaks' and 'The Shak'. However, according to Dash, this is his biggest role yet.“This is a very epic and grand-scale show, and it paints things in this beautiful light. I have done shows like that before, but I'm much more used to doing smaller chamber shows. The last show I did with Queensland Theatre Company was a very small, contained show, and this one is really big and epic with massive sets, so it's been fun to work on that.”
'Brisbane' brings to light the issues that families had to deal with during this era, and takes the audience on a journey, as you see the immediate affects that war has. As a result of his own family and friends being involved with war, Dash is all too aware of these affects. It is because of this that ANZAC Day is a particularly important day for Dash and his family.“In my family we've seen what war does, how it affects people emotionally and physically, and what kind of support they need when they get back... My father was in the Army, he's a Vietnam VET, and my brother's in the Army, he was a VET from Afghanistan, so ANZAC Day is always a very sobering time for our family. It's a chance for us to appreciate what my brother and my dad did for us... When we were younger, dad used to march in the ANZAC Day parade and we'd march along with him. We'd often go to the dawn services as well.”
Having the opportunity to gain firsthand understanding of what life was like in Brisbane during 1942 allowed Dash to have a greater grasp of his role in the play, and have a better knowledge of the setting of the play itself.
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“I actually had a friend who lived through that time and so I got to speak to her and get firsthand information about what life was like in Brisbane in 1942... She was actually enlisted in the American Entertainment Core as a dancer, and she used to entertain all the troops all over Brisbane, Townsville and Darwin. She has some amazing stories about that time, so it's been wonderful talking to her about all these places that we talk about in the play, and what it was like in Brisbane. We get a picture painted on paper, but then when somebody actually speaks life into it, it's a whole new experience.”
Dash and the rest of the cast in 'Brisbane' are looking forward to giving the audience the chance to experience life in Brisbane in 1942, and to better appreciate the city and the roles that Australian troops have played in it's history.
“When we talk about the way it's set in the war and all that sort of stuff, people can get the sort of idea that it's gonna be a furious and dark piece. But it's actually got this lightness and hilarity so it is going to be a really enjoyable play to watch.“[The audience] can expect to learn something about the place where they live, while not realising that they're learning things. It's a really fun show, it's a really heartfelt show, and all of this information just comes along with it. So it's not a history play in the sense that we're trying to teach people the history of Brisbane, but because of the place and the time that it's set, you learn so much about that time that you also get a sense of what it was like to live in something like that.”
'Brisbane' plays Queensland Performing Arts Centre, 11 April - 2 May.
