Tim Rogers new 'live radio show' Liquid Nights In Bohemia Nights brings his popular Friday afternoon radio show, Liquid Lunch, out of Double J's studios and into a theatre near you – but Bohemia promises much more than that.
"What we hope is that an audience can walk in and suddenly they're not in Brisbane, we're not in the Gold Coast, we're not in wherever we are, we're in Bohemia Heights, which is at some unspecified post code, somewhere in Australia," Rogers says. "We're in this 'town' that we've created, where there's more cocktail bars than bars, and a hell of a lot of book clubs, but everyone's invited."
Coming to the Brisbane Powerhouse in November, Rogers and the Bohemia crew – collaborator and sound designer Russell Goldsmith, broadcasting legend Jonnie Von Goes, and Kelly Day and Jane Henry of Broads – will bring with them a fantasy town inspired in part by Rogers' childhood memories.
"I think it started because when I was a kid, my mum and my dear dad played us this radio series called 'A Prairie Home Companion', which was heralded by a writer and a radio broadcaster called Garrison Keillor, and he invented this town, Lake Wobegon; and for decades for this radio show, he'd tell stories about what was going on in the town and play music.
"We're not comedians; most of us are musicians that are involved in theatre or radio. And what we wanted to do was to create a show whereby anyone who walked into the space that we create can be elsewhere, and in this 'elsewhere' where the predominant feeling is one of a soft joy."
Rogers and friend/ co-creator Goldsmith spent considerable time together discussing radio plays and radio shows, and decided to attempt to write their own but live on stage.
"We wanted to take everyone to Bohemia Heights, where we can luxuriate in words and music and be not condescending – because so much radio is brow-beating and looking ratings – it's almost like we set up Bohemia Heights, and Liquid Nights, as being a radio show that has no interest in ratings whatsoever," Tim says.
"If there are three people listening or three hundred, we just want to go out on this opiate-like journey."
With the entertainment industry as a whole being "adrift of time" thanks to "the quiet time" (as Rogers refers to lockdown), Bohemia promises a space of not only employment for the performers on stage, but escapism for those entering the world they have carefully crafted.
Rogers admits there have still been certain challenges during the creative process. "One was getting over the terror of presenting something like this; you haven't got amps and guitars, and volume to knock people over the head," he says.
"You're presenting something that's a bit scripted, so, conquering [the anxiety of] that, and then the thrill of not knowing what's going to happen. I mean, it could go any way, really."
After receiving a compliment from Bohemian Heights cast member Von Goes on his interviewing skills, Rogers became philosophical about his skill set. "I thought, it's about listening," he says.
"And I thought more, as a narcissist it's interesting that I'd be interviewing people – but when you listen to people, particularly with an audience, wonderful things can happen."
Rogers says listening is one skill that also helps with improvisation. "I think one of the greatest things you can do to be able to improvise is be empathetic, in that you listen. And you don't need to react to everything – you can react to every fourth thing," he explains.
"Social media only exacerbates this compulsion to just react to everything. The world would be a better place if there's less reaction, and less comment, and if we let things have space and have air, and only contribute when we feel that we've got something to say.
"Possibly that's a large part of what the show's about. It's not dynamic at all. . . When you walk in, it's. . . Let's take this slow. Let's enjoy this, like a beautiful radio play. Let's enjoy the words; let's enjoy this music that's being presented. Let's enjoy the ideas, and really think about them."
The use of sound effects play a large role in creating the Bohemia Heights experience, with the team preferring Foley effects over the typical 'stings' used in modern radio.
"We began to research the history of Foley effects, and that's the replication of real-life events – be that bird calls, or the sound of a ball on a bat in cricket, or the recreation of real-life sounds on radio – we're nerds like that, the Bohemia crew," Rogers explains.
"Because radio, I guess it's using one sense, and a whole lot of your imagination. And I guess that's what we're trying to do, is a conceit thing, where everyone can see that we're on stage, but there's no recognition of that – it's an aural experience."
For Rogers, researching and experimenting with Foley effects has been one of the more fun – and fascinating – parts of the project. "It's amazing what you can do with a cabbage and a microphone," he laughs.
"Russell, who's my collaborator on this project, we spend far too much time with vegetables and microphones. . . Not a euphemism, m'am."
Some guests have just been announced for Brisbane'ss Bohemia including playwright Wesley Enoch, members of Melbourne dance collective Project Animo, and singer-songwriter Katie Noonan.
"Because people are looking for work and looking for things to do – particularly in entertainment, the knee-jerk reaction is to just go, 'Oh, well, I'll just call musician friends', but we're trying to broaden it a little bit," Rogers says.
"We kind of don't talk about music, we talk about what the concept of 'bohemia' is. Because I mean, bohemianism – or what we think it is – is a desire to not be beholden to the zeitgeist, and to pursue joy and pleasure however we can get it."
Rogers says some of the funniest people he has met have been musicians, not comedians. "Do they have a character type? Or are they just people and that's what they do for a job?" he asks.
"I guess we examine that through the show – or like to ask the question – because some us who are musicians, you often get told, 'Oh, you don't seem like a muso', or you don't have this character type that's supposed to be a musician.
"I guess humans are complex animals, and hopefully we can examine it."
