Perth Voice Interactive

SWEAT dripping, heart pounding and legs aching, the man runs on and on through the dark, down the lonely country road.

“He doesn’t know why he’s running,” writer and actor Tom Davies says.

As he runs the man speculates on why he’s where he is and why he’s running.

“Has he committed a crime, lost a love—or it could be totally absurd and there’s no reason he is running at all.”

Every minute of stage time has Davies jogging in the ironically named What a Joy to be Alive—and the sweat is real.

Originally a solo performance, he hitched up with classically-trained guitarist Chris Bolton in a fusion of theatre and music that adds depth and another dimension to the show.

“The character I play gives a little dance—now there’s music in there it’s kind of exploded.

“[And] it’s a lot more fun working with music than doing solo,” he tells the Voice, adding a recent performance without Bolton and his music on stage won’t be repeated: “I felt naked.”

Bolton is a classically-trained guitarist who plays with Melbourne band Seagull.

“Chris adapted his own songs [for the show] and composed new music,” Davies says.

Davies, 37, met Bolton, 25, when introduced by director John Bolton—Chris’ dad, and they clicked.

“Coincidentally we have similar taste in music,” Davies says.

“[He’s] not only a good musician, but theatrically talented in terms of how to structure a piece, how to make the music work.”

What a Joy to be Alive is a one of a number of shows at the Blue Room for the Perth Fringe Festival.

Fringe festivals are a chance for upcoming performers, playwrights and musicians to showcase their often off-beat offerings.

In a case of life emulating art, Where There’s Smoke (also at the Blue Room) is a play about family and dealing with loss in the wake of a devastating bush fire while 10,000 Beers was belched from Australia’s binge-drinking sub-culture and is a black comedy about extreme drinking and consequences.

Also in the news and on stage is WA’s obsessional fear of sharks with local playwright and WAAPA graduate Will O’Mahony’s Great White using sharks and fear as a metaphor for growing up.

The Perth Fringe Festival kicks off January 24 for four weeks.

For details of what’s on at the Blue Room click onto the theatre’s Summer Nights 2014 program.

Or check out the full Fringe program at http://www.fringeworld.com.au where you’ll find a swag of shows without the big ticket price of mainstream theatre, and quite a few free ones.

by JENNY D’ANGER