A dark world of murder and superstition awaits in 'The Mysteries Of Mad River: A Swamp-Folk Operetta', the latest production by Sydney singer-songwriter and performer Keppie Coutts.
In the quiet and unassuming town of Mad River something strange is happening; one by one children are disappearing only to be found murdered in a variety of gruesome ways. Hot on the case of this musical mystery is the loveable but slightly deranged schoolteacher, Abigail Borden.
Keppie explains how the narrative came together as an exploration of different characters outside her real-life persona. “I started writing a collection of songs over the past year and a number of the songs started coming out as very character-driven narratives and a lot of them were very dark in nature,” she says.
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“I think I'd been listening to a lot of Tom Waits and Nick Cave, among others, and experimenting with talking in different voices and characters other than my own. A lot of that is because over the lifespan of a songwriter there's only so much interest I have in my own factual, autobiographical experience and when that dries up or you get bored of yourself you go searching elsewhere.”
With her latest work, Keppie has carefully constructed the world of Mad River as a Delta-style swamp set in pre-industrial times and layered in the superstitions, paranoia and claustrophobia of a small town. “To me the world is pre-technology, just pre-industrial,” she says.
“It's also very rural, so the feeling of the town Mad River is somewhere that's quite isolated, where everyone knows everyone and everyone knows each other's business, or think they do, and no secret is safe. That's the world in my mind.
“There's a creepiness to it, superstition and also magical thinking; that there's a loose boundary between science and magic, that there is still belief in alchemy and that sort of vibe. There's references in the narrative to a curse, so one of the theories is that these children are disappearing because of this curse that recurs through each generation.”
Keppie presents the premiere of 'The Mysteries Of Mad River' as a one-woman show backed by a five-piece band at this year's Sydney Fringe Festival and she says it is the ideal event for a work of this nature, which steps outside the conventional realms of theatre and performance.
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“When thinking about how to present this in the right venue, it felt like the [Sydney] Fringe Festival was exactly the right venue in terms of organisation and an event that's pushing boundaries and going beyond what most people expect from performing songwriters.”
'The Mysteries Of Mad River: A Swamp-Folk Operetta' is about as black as black comedy gets before it becomes outright horror. It may unashamedly tread on the toes of those with an overly sensitive disposition, but Keppie says it's all in good fun. “I hope that [audiences] feel a sense of catharsis in the songs and characters that perhaps challenge politically-correct attitudes towards children,” Keppie laughs, before adding a final caveat.
“One thing I will say is that professionally I'm a teacher and I'm also a mother, and it's cathartic and really fun to sing songs about murdering children. So I hope people don't think I'm insane, but instead feel a cathartic sense of comedy and joy.”
