The love stories of Mandurah residents will be explored in a 50-minute Fringe World Festival show set to open in Perth later this month.
Locals Bed Weldon, Emily Burton, Lachlan McNeil and Ella Thompson will bring an almost five-year-old brain child to life through their production of All The Ways To Tell You, a show designed to highlight the importance of expressing love, particularly after the hardships of 2020.
The quartet spent time in December hailing fellow Mandurah locals off the street at the foreshore and interviewing them about the loves in their life.
From partners to pets, all forms of affection were explored to help construct the show, which will take shape as a fusion of theatre and poetry.
The production kicks off with a spoken word piece integrated with a song, before the interviews with Mandurah locals are shown and delved into on stage through a string of performances.
The interviews range from those experienced in love to younger people simply "finding their feet" in it.
They speak of success stories that have lasted a lifetime, and of heartbreaks from lost loves.
The show is a special one for both Weldon and Burton, who originally thought of the idea in 2016.
"We're all from Mandurah and it's a special place for us, so to be bringing the love stories of people in our hometown to Fringe World is incredible," Weldon said.
"The show is a really warm, wholesome performance, and we're really hoping people can walk away from it thinking 'man, I need to call my mum' or my partner or my grandmother.
"For us, the aim is to highlight how important it is to show that love, especially in the current times with everything that's going on in the world."
Performing at Fringe World Festival is an achievement in itself for the troupe, which Weldon said was "beyond excited" to launch into opening night.
"It just feels like a dream," she said.
"I think no matter how much we rehears, or rejig the show, I'm never going to feel ready just because it feels a bit surreal.
"This show has every single one of our hearts poured into it. We've dedicated so much time and effort, so this is just really awesome for us."
All The Ways To Tell You will open at After Dark Galleries in Perth on Thursday, January 21, kicking off at 5.30pm.
Visit fringeworld.com.au/whats_on/all-the-ways-to-tell-you-fw2021 to purchase tickets to the event.
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
