Crocodile Fever - Theatre Review

Experience More - Subscribe to Our Weekly Events Newsletter

Wed 07 Jun 2023 - Sat 17 Jun 2023

Hurry to catch Crocodile Fever written by Meghan Tyler and produced by TART Theatre Collective now at The Motley Bauhaus in Carlton until 17 June 2023. Book your tickets here – Splash Zone tickets are only $20.



Set in Northern Ireland in 1989, at the peak of The Troubles , Alannah looks after her crippled father in their family home. It's a rainy evening and she is fastidiously cleaning the kitchen like a saint. There is something unsettling about Alannah's obsessiveness as she walks on eggshells to avoid waking the beast.



Fianna, Alannah's estranged sister arrives like a bombshell by breaking a side window. She is drunk, singing and swearing at the top of her lungs. Alannah has not seen or heard from Fianna in 11 years. As the conversation and relationship dynamics unfurl, a tragic family secret bubbles to the surface.



Fianna pushes Alannah to her limits, trying to regain some of the sister she once knew. Alannah tries to keep straight-laced always conscious not to wake the monster who sleeps in the other room. Fuelled with gin, Fianna goes to slay the beast who has haunted and controlled them all their lives.



Brilliantly directed by Em Tambree Crocodile Fever is as relevant today in Australia, as it was in 1989 in Northern Ireland. The internal conflict of an Irish family is set in the terrorism era of Northern Ireland, where people stay indoors to avoid the bombings and killings of everyday citizens.

The intensity of the conflict and tension in Crocodile Fever centres around childhood trauma through generational violence and its impact on Fianna and Alannah. Meghan Tyler's clever writing captures the paradox between a society suffering at the hands of extreme violence, and the strict Catholic and Protestant doctrine which pervaded and divided the Irish psychologically and physically - from family to family across the North and the South.



Fianna and Alannah try to resolve the beast underpinning their existence – father Peter 'Da' Devlin (Aram Geleris) who is crippled and dependent on Alannah's care. Crocodiles will eat their young to protect their territory and Peter Devlin certainly embodies the reptilian quest for survival at all costs. Even with no legs to stand on, this man torments and controls until the bitter end.



Crocodile Fever is a wild ride using dark comedy to lighten and highlight the intense trauma of living with a beast and the cast and crew have produced a gripping piece of theatre, with brilliant performances and intense energy which will keep you guessing. With puppetry, a chainsaw, brilliant design, and the promise of fake blood, this is theatre at its best. So grab a cocktail or two and get ready for an insane night of theatre at The Motley Bauhaus. CONTENT WARNING: Crocodile Fever contains strong language, references to domestic abuse, references to sexual abuse, references to graphic violence, flashing lights, the use of imitation firearms, fake blood in abundance, and humour.

#animals-wildlife
#art
#bars
#carlton
#carlton -north
#drama
#humour
#inner-north-melbourne
#city
#near-melbourne
#nightlife
#theatre-reviews
#theatres
#things-to-see
#june
!date 07/06/2023 -- 17/06/2023
%wnmelbourne