Fringe Fever: We catch up with Bron Batten

Bron’s Answers:

What three words best describe you Fringe show?Awkward family photos
Who does your show speak to? Anyone whose parents want them to get a real job
What other Fringe show will you NOT miss? Miles O’Neil’s World Around Us and Nick Coyle’s Me Pregnant!
What other Fringe show do you wish you were in? Anna Lumb’s I Heart Jack so I could roller skate like she does
What do you love most about the Melbourne Fringe? The diversity and enthusiasm of the artists; it’s very inspiring.
How many Melbourne Fringes have you performed in? This will be my 8th (Oh god!)
If you could invite anyone to see your show (and you know they would come), who would it be?Ricky Gervais and the Dalai Lama
What is the best theatre advice you’ve received? Always make sure you’re in your light and don’t mumble
What was your most embarrassing moment on stage? Failing my grade one AMEB saxophone exam as a 26 year old in front of 300 people
Do you have any pre- or post-show rituals? Pre-show: pacing. Post-show: beer.
What’s your favourite theatre superstition? Do you believe it? The Scottish play ritual – and yes.
What was the last book you read? Will Self’s Book of Dave
What TV show do you never miss? True Blood and Misfits
What film will you watch again and again? Strictly Ballroom
Who will hate your Fringe show? My Mum (Probably! And she’s in it!)
What show changed how you see theatre? Why?I saw a piece in the Melbourne Festival a couple of years ago called An Anthology of Optimism by CAMPO which is Belgian artist Pieter De Buysser and Canadian Jacob Wren. It was a performance/lecture type work about an optimist and a pessimist having a philosophical discussion about the merits of both stances as a dominant world view.I was reading an article by one of the artists and he said ‘anything where you are in a room with other people pretending to be somewhere else is just old-fashioned’. I realised that I want to explore and make work that generates collective experience, because for me, that’s what live performance is all about.Apart from their theatrical manifesto, I admired their elegant approach to performance making. It was simple without being simplistic, made complex philosophical theories entertaining and accessible and was a tender, funny and thought provoking meditation on an idea everyone can identify with.
What was your first time on stage? Jazz ballet concert when I was 8. There was a lot of lycra, sequins and Michael Jackson involved.
What is the first theatre show you remember seeing? An amateur musical production of Me and My Girl (and yet I still do theatre…!)
If you had access to the TARDIS, what performance would you see first? Tom Waits, Jeff Buckey, The Beatles and The Wooster Group’s adaptation of The Crucible on acid
What director/actor/writer would you just die to work with? Wes Anderson or Michel Gondrie
What is your favourite theatre space in Melbourne?Witches in Britches Theatre Restaurant
Where in Melbourne do you always take visitors? Cheap China Town dumplings and The Exford Hotel
How do you have your coffee? Weak flat white with one
What’s the best pizza topping? At the moment, prosciutto and blue cheese with fresh basil and lemon
What do love most about your Fringe show? Hanging out with my Dad (pictured) and seeing how excited he is about finally getting a chance to be onstage!