Perth Voice Interactive

IT’S 2114, and for 100 years Perth has been buried under a massive pile of rubbish; mostly takeaway coffee cups, stale cupcakes and hipsters.

Xavier Toby leads a tour group around the recently unearthed city, showing them what life was like in 2014. It’s so dangerous, they have to wear high-visibility safety gear.

The unique forwards/backwards comedy walking tour is part of the 2014 Perth Fringe World Festival, having sold out shows in Melbourne and Sydney’s fringes last year .

“We walk around pretending it’s 100 years from now when society has solved all of its problems and we laugh at the way life was,” Toby tells the Voice.

“I want people to think about how we will be remembered in 2014.

“It’s a mix of history about the city, thinking about the future, as well as some very funny, stupid set pieces,” says Toby, who dresses as a penguin as part of a running gag about global warming.

“I tell the audience that everyone died because of the rubbish so the people they see around the city are actors in the show.

“When we go into shops they can take what they want…and as you can imagine we have been thrown out a few times—but it’s all part of the fun.

“But I also like to show people the beauty in the city, as people rarely stop and look around,” Toby says on a serious note.

“It gives people a new way of looking at their surroundings and everyday life”.

Toby also runs a satiric political blog and is the author of I am Mining my Own Business, a black look at life as a FIFO worker which is due to be released on February 1. He has a second Fringe show based on his book.

His blog strays into some pretty hardcore activism, but Toby says although there’s still a serious message about the flaws in our lifestyle bubbling through the tour, he’s toned it down a lot.

Perth Fringe World Festival runs from January 24 to February 23. Head to the festival website to book 2014 – When We Were Idiots, is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons and evenings from January 24 to February 16 for $20 per person.

 by CLARE KENYON