Bushpig is a one woman show that is pure fringe – intimate, funny, and a bit of an experiment, performed with wonderful dexterity by the creator of the show, Hannah Malarski. Bushpig (Malarski), is a lonely hopeful from a country town, desperate to make it big in the city. Just how she should go about doing this is not so clear, along with what talents she has to make it to the big time. Still she goes to seek her fortune, spurred on by an encouraging aunt and a doting father.
But of course fame is not what it says on the tin, and Bushpig finds herself longing for home. It is a well-worn story line, but one that still holds resonance in a small performance venue like the Owl and the Pussycat. Why we go on creating and performing is a question that a lot of people, in the face of multiple setbacks, continue to ask themselves.
This play highlights the joy and freedom from performing in a one woman show. In an industry still bogged down in gender inequality, both on stage and behind the scenes, it is one of the few formats that a female performer gets to shamelessly hog (pun intended) the stage, and with characters and performances that aren’t designed to complement the (usually male) protagonists. Indeed Bushpig is full of well-meaning, ambitious-by-proxy female characters who, having missed out on their own chance, invest in the female lead to fulfil their own dashed dreams. A trim-down in run time would hugely benefit this show, but otherwise Bushpig is a good example of solid fringe theatre, beautifully performed, and full of simple, yet highly effective stagecraft.
BY SAM WILSON
