Meet The Actor – Confessions of a Serial Killer

Confessions of a Serial Killer

Confessions of a Serial Killer is coming to Brisbane on the 6th of October, and here we take the time to chat with Actor/Director Garth Remington in our Meet The Actor Series.

So let’s put the spotlight on Garth and learn more about him and the Confessions of a Serial Killer Production.

Meet The Actor - Garth Remington

About Garth

Why do you want to be an actor?

I love performing in live shows, seeing the audience’s instant reactions or viewing the finished product after filming projects.

What do you enjoy most about acting?

Seeing all the little ways you can help improve a project. It’s incredibly gratifying when you find a way to add something that takes the whole production to another level.

What productions have you acted in before?

I’ve been involved in Dark Stories since its first show in Brisbane, including The Haunting, Female of the Species, and To Hunt a Killer. I am also a standup comedian, improviser, sketch writer/performer, voice-over, and I’ve had a few film and commercial roles.

Do you want to work in film, live theatre or both?

I have been involved in both, and each has pros and cons. With film, you get to create complicated and perfected work, but in live theatre, you make something new every night, tailored to the audience’s needs on any given night.

How do you maintain your physical and emotional health while working on demanding projects?

You must include a decompression after a show run. Celebrate your achievements and take a stress break before taking on the next project.

Are there any particular genres or types of roles that you prefer or feel most comfortable in?

I’ve enjoyed all kinds of roles including thriller, dramatic and even romantic but my favourite is comedy hands down.

Have you ever had to improvise during a performance? If so, can you share an example?

All the time. Anything can happen in immersive theatre, and you have to be flexible. I’ve had a co-star forget their lines on stage, so I dived on the grenade (so to speak) and improvised as my character to give them and the rest of the cast a chance to regroup. It’s a good feeling to know you have everyone’s back.

Are you comfortable with performing stunts or action scenes? If so, what kind of training have you had?

I am; I’ve done a lot of martial arts and feel comfortable with breakfalls and fight choreography.

About Confessions of a Serial Killer

What sort of person is going to love this show?

Any fans of crime thrillers, murder mysteries or spooky things in general.

Why did you want to be involved in this production?

Immersive theatre is a unique format that can’t be experienced anywhere else. Every single session is different as the audience will get involved under actor direction. As an actor you never know what to expect.

Who should not come see this show?

People who are not up for a scare. 

What will the audience be thinking about in the car as they drive home after this show?

After the show, I’d expect the audience to go home with lots of food for thought. I’m sure they will question their own morals and consider the nature of good and evil.

How is this production bringing something new to this story?

We have thought through the relationships between characters and found some fun. There will be a few laughs between the thrills.

What’s going to surprise people about this show?

The audience interactions: this show is not on a stage; we will be amongst the crowd, and unexpected things will happen.

Is there something else you’d really like to say?

Every Dark Stories production is unlike anything you will ever experience. There are so many reasons people will like this show, but you will never find another show like this.

Garth can be seen in Confessions of a Serial Killer, which only runs for three nights, from the 6th to the 8th of October, in the secluded sections of creepy Minnippi Parklands.

Assassins – The Revusical

Assassins

In the lovely Beenleigh Crete Street Theatre, Assassins is a dark comedic revusical (part revue, part musical) telling the stories of the nine men and women who have successfully or unsuccessfully tried to kill a president of the United States. It skips down through the ages from Lincoln to Reagan. It reimagines a world where history brought these people together, meeting throughout time. If you’re a history buff or just a lover of fun musicals, this one is to die for.

Assassins

Cult members, stalker fans, bottle makers, and a man with a stomach ache all shared the same dream: to kill the president of the United States of America. Some things unite all sorts of people. Nine people wanted to be remembered throughout history, to shoot their shot at infamy.

The audience laughed throughout the play, especially at Lynette Fromme (Amelia Burton) and Sara Jane Moore (Alison Pattinson). Their chemistry together was phenomenal, but the performance that really killed the audience was the deranged ramblings of Samuel Byck that Dan Konstantinos brought to life. He must have been gunning to stand out.

Adam Goodall sang throughout, talking to each of the assassins through the ages before his reveal at the end that I won’t spoil. Michael Ware assures us the trick to curing any ailment is to assassinate a president, or at least it can’t hurt to try.

I give only the highest praise to the live orchestra, directed by Ben Richards, who set the scenes perfectly. The live band added so much to the show’s feel, and they are all so talented. Issac Brown directed the actors, doing a fantastic job. The show ran for 100 minutes without an intermission and just left people wanting more.

If you’d like to take a shot at having a lovely evening, pull the trigger and get tickets to Assassins, the opportunity won’t last long. It will leave you laughing and with some more serious questions about what the American dream truly is.

With just two weekends remaining, grab your tickets for Assassins for any one of the following sessions:-

  • Fri 6th Oct, Evening 8:00 PM
  • Sat 7th Oct, Matinee, 2:00 PM
  • Sat 7th Oct, Evening, 8:00 PM
  • Fri 13th Oct, Evening 8:00 PM
  • Sat 14th Oct, Matinee, 2:00 PM
  • Sat 14th Oct, Evening, 8:00 PM
Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Picnic At Hanging Rock – A Dark Australian Tale

The Observatory Theatre’s latest production, Picnic at Hanging Rock brings Joan Lindsay’s haunting and iconic novel to life through Tom Wright’s reimagining of this dark, uniquely Australian tale.  Emerging artistic talent Lachlan Driscoll has created an impressive theatrical experience that successfully captures the essence of mystery and intrigue central to Lindsay’s story. 

The laser focus of Driscoll and his team in delivering a high-quality production is evident in the attention to detail accorded to the set and sound design which transports the audience straight into country Victoria in 1900 and Appleyard College, a private school for girls where we meet the students, the school mistresses, and servants.

A dark sense of foreboding swirls as we join these disparate characters who are drawn irrevocably into the eerie world of the Rock and their fate.  We feel the mid-afternoon heat, torpor, and rugged dangerous beauty of the Australian bush as the story builds towards the fateful picnic and, then the discordant, crashing horror of the aftermath.  Each scene is carefully crafted with the actors, beautifully choreographed, maintaining the energy and pace to drive the evocative narrative forward.

Tom Wright’s adaption of this story is unique.  It shines a light into the dark corners of the world inhabited by these young Australian women, constrained and constricted under the expectations of a culture fully informed by the British “motherland”; the accepted and expected way of life in the “outpost of Empire” that was pre-Federation Australia.  This jars deliciously and discordantly with the ancient and seemingly unknowable Australian landscape exemplified by the Rock. 

The wonderfully talented cast is given much to work with and they take full advantage.  Malika Savory’s nuanced execution of Sara brings the fragility of this vulnerable girl to life and her scenes with the “Headmistress from Hell”, Mrs Appleyard (adeptly portrayed by Libby Harrison) deliver a masterclass in powerful performance.

As Albert Crundall, the Coachman, Leah Fitzgerald-Quinn sets the tone for this seemingly simple yet interestingly complex character.  Albert’s common, sometimes crass but practical nature appears at odds with his bold acts of bravery and Fitzgerald-Quinn brings a laconic “Australian-ness” to deliver believability to this spectrum.

When picnic survivor Irma Leopold meets with Michael Fitzhubert, the young Englishman haunted by the girls’ fate, over a polite afternoon tea, both Jules Broun (Irma) and Téa Paige (Michael) strike the right note of poignancy and fear as Irma and Michael struggle to remember, and also to forget their experiences at Rock within this strained and constrained formal ceremony.

The Observatory Theatre’s production of Picnic at Hanging Rock is much more than a stock retelling of a well-loved tale which ponders the blurred lines between truth and fiction.  It successfully pays homage to the haunting legacy of the original story and offers new perspectives.

Balancing innovation whilst maintaining faithfulness to the source material ensures those of us still having nightmares from Peter Weir’s unsettling 1975 film adaption of the story, and those of us who are new to the tale, are equally satisfied.

Put this one on your must-see list.  With 10% off at Slipstream Brewing on presentation of your ticket you’d be mad not to enjoy the supernatural shivers, and a calming beverage afterwards. 

Performances nightly at Studio 1 Yeerongpilly on Friday 18, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 August with 3pm Matinee performances on both Saturday and Sunday.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Every Tale has a Beginning

Pip Theatre’s latest production, produced by Moonspark Productions, of David Eldridge’s play, Beginning, is a poignant musing about two lonely people in our present day, seeking some sort of connection in inner-city London.

A real-time examination of two damaged people reaching out at the end of a party, with the woman taking the initiative. This two-hander movingly reminds us that, even in the age of social media and internet dating, creating a connection with another person remains as problematic as ever.

Laura is a 38-year-old managing director whose new north London home is where the housewarming party happened. Danny is a 42-year-old middle-management man who, having come along at the invitation of a friend, is the last man standing. They are similar in age, but in many ways, they are universes unto themselves. She is passionate, capable and, organised. He lives with his mum.

Taking place in real time over 100 minutes, the play shows them desperate for love and affection. It would be a big spoiler to reveal why they are so needy. Eldridge captures the way people’s desires rarely synchronise. Laura seems more assured, yet we sense a vacancy in her life.

Danny clearly likes her but is nervous, resisting her advances through evasion tactics, including cleaning up the detritus of the party. Eldridge shows that contrary to all the myths of our technological age and the allure of advertising, solitude is still pervasive.

The Australian premiere of the play is currently running in Brisbane at PIP Theatre, 20 Park Road, Milton. Crystal Arons and Jesse Blachut do an admirable job of bringing to life the angst of the two slightly sloshed Londoners.

The hunger animating Laura is evident, and Danny’s rugged wariness suggests a man who conceals a buried hurt. Director Heidi Gledhill has them hitting the right rhythm as both actors peel away protective layers, leaving you caring deeply about them, adding an eerie quality to present-day dating.

This is the production’s final week with only the following sessions of Beginning to choose from:-

  • Thu 27 July 7.30 pm
  • Fri 28 July 7.30 pm
  • Sat 29 July, Matinee 2 pm
  • Sun 29 July 7.30 pm
Spread the word on your favourite platform!