“'Wolf Creek' meets 'Picnic At Hanging Rock'.” That's one of the ways Leah Shelton describes her dark comedy performance piece 'Pulpshow'.
Leah was inspired by the creepy, often bizarre Ozploitation movies of the 1970s – movies where the outback was the worst possible place for a vacation, and Max was mad. 'Pulpshow' is also a dark comedy with a little burlesque, making fun of all the typical Australian horror tropes and taking a look at what makes us really afraid.
A lifelong fan of everything film noir and directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, it was only when she started looking into the Ozploitation genre that Leah saw how specifically Australian some of our movies were. All the classic Australian ideas and icons were there, and they all represented things actually present in our culture that we might be secretly afraid of. Movies like 'Wake In Fright' and 'Wolf Creek' are all about the creepiness of the outback, but Leah says you don't need to have seen any of the Ozploitation flicks to be familiar with the ideas, to understand the references to our culture. As bizarre as 'Pulpshow' is, it's totally accessible to anyone who's lived here for more than a minute.
© Morgan RobertsTake the movie 'Wake In Fright' where a man gets stuck in a small Australian country town surrounded by drunken, unruly characters and no money to get himself out of there. It slowly turns into a complete nightmare even though all that's happening is he's isolated. 'Wake In Fright' is one of the films that stood out for Leah. “I grew up in the country, so parts of that movie were very familiar to me. We've all seen drunken yobbos on their barstools before.”
Leah recently spent time in Las Vegas performing as part of the controversial comedy show 'Vegas Nocturne' and says that while she was there she'd often ask people what they thought of Australia, thinking back on their answers when she created 'Pulpshow'. Not that they were terrified of Australia, but it got Shelton more interested in how people see the country – how Australians see their own country. Shelton was always interested in what she calls “the dark side of things, the dark underbelly of Australia.”
© Morgan Roberts'Pulpshow' takes a light-hearted look at our culture, but it's not all wackiness and cabaret. “I think there's still this fear of the 'other' in Australia, I think there's a lot of fear of change, and I wanted to look at what Australians are really afraid of.” While most of the show has a hint of that dark comedy, Shelton says things take a turn for the serious more than once. 'Pulpshow' works in true stories, like one about someone meeting a man on an outback road who they think could have been the real Ivan Milat. And another about someone hitting a kangaroo with their car and having to put the nation's symbol out of its misery.
A little seriousness aside, 'Pulpshow' is an eclectic, crazy mess of genres, and Leah says she loves the energy when she performs at places like Adelaide Fringe, where you can see so much more than just ordinary theatre. “I love it, and I'm also doing another show for Fringe called 'Cult', which kind of shows my love for cult cinema and Hollywood.” 'Cult' is a love letter to the oddities, with performers and audience members alike dressing as their favourite cult film characters for a night of cabaret, drag, dance, and reenactments of the best of cult cinema.
© Morgan RobertsLeah is no stranger to the strange on stage. “There was a show where I had to wear a merkin,” she says, “and... well let's just leave it at that! That says it all.” Shelton describes the craziest thing she's ever done on stage – an act involving a suitcase, where she'd lock herself inside and perform all sorts of seemingly impossible contortions. She goes on to reveal the secrets of the suitcase bit, which can't be made public – you'll have to see for yourself, with the act making another appearance at Fringe.
A seasoned vet when it comes to performing, Leah says she'd always put on little shows as a kid at home, that it was something she gravitated towards. “My Dad would say 'oh that's a nice hobby', but it was more than that!” She's hoping to spend a lot of 2016 working on new pieces (as well as a trip to New York with her dance company, Polytoxic), and if they're anything like the wild and subversive 'Pulpshow' they will, at the very least, get people talking.
© Morgan Roberts'Pulpshow' plays The Garden of Unearthly Delights 12 February – 13 March as part of Adelaide Fringe Festival.
