An exploration of survival, the need to belong, and how to cook the perfect soufflé, Cloverlea is the post-apocalyptic soap opera comedy the world has always needed.
In their first-ever theatre show, screenwriters Beth Knights and Georgia Powick have created a timely (and only mildly bleak) comedy, marrying the absurd with the existential.
Beth told the Express that she and Georgia had worked together for more than 10 years as screenwriters and decided it would be fun to work on their own show.
“It’s reminded us why we write, plus I think we’re both thwarted actors,” Beth said.
Cloverlea tells the tale of unlikely (and unlikeable) apocalypse survivors, Christine and Christina, who dwell in a trailer on the set of the long-running soap opera Cloverlea – home to them since infancy.
When each new script begins to kill off major characters, and then, startlingly, swathes of humanity, the sisters cannot hide their distress. What’s going on? And could they be next?
Using soap opera tropes to explore the power and scale of humanity’s ability to delude itself, Cloverlea features three survivors of an apocalyptic event: the twin sisters (who never leave their set trailer) and Jeffrey – seemingly the production intern, but actually their neglected teenage daughter/niece.
As a matter of survival, Jeffrey delivers ‘daily scripts’ and maintains the sisters’ belief they are still on the show that ended when the world did. But water is scarce and supplies are running out.
Jeffrey needs them to wake up and face the truth of a post-apocalyptic world – or face the even worse consequences.
In each new script, Jeffrey plants plotlines to remind them of the cookery cult, signpost their cataclysmic reality and have the sisters confront their own mortality. But some delusions are hard to break…
Will Jeffrey succeed, or will she harness the power of delusion herself?
Showing at The Bridge Hotel as part of the Castlemaine Fringe Festival, Cloverlea will be performed on Wednesday, March 29, and Thursday, March 30, 8pm-9pm.
Tickets are $20/$15 and can be purchased at www.castlemainefringe.org.au
