As Luck Would Have It
In turns hilarious and devastating, this extraordinary new work leans into the absurdity of survival whilst sliding to the edge of reason.
Venue: IPAC – Bruce Gordon Theatre
Address: 32 Burelli St, Wollongong NSW 2500
Date: 27 July – 6 August 2022
Time: Wednesday 27 Jul 7.30pm, Thursday 28 Jul 6.30pm, Saturday 30 Jul 1.30pm & 7.30pm, Wednesday 3 Aug 7.30pm, Thursday 4 Aug 6.30pm, Friday 5 Aug 7.30pm, Saturday 6 Aug, 1.30pm & 7.30pm
Ticket: Premium: $59, Adult: $49, Concession/Groups 8+ $44, Under 30s $39, Family of 4 $156 (Max 2 Adults), School Groups 8+ $23
Web: https://merrigong.com.au/shows/as-luck-would-have-it
: https://twitter.com/merrigong
EMail: boxoffice@merrigong.com.au
Call: 02 4224 5999
Address: 32 Burelli St, Wollongong NSW 2500
Date: 27 July – 6 August 2022
Time: Wednesday 27 Jul 7.30pm, Thursday 28 Jul 6.30pm, Saturday 30 Jul 1.30pm & 7.30pm, Wednesday 3 Aug 7.30pm, Thursday 4 Aug 6.30pm, Friday 5 Aug 7.30pm, Saturday 6 Aug, 1.30pm & 7.30pm
Ticket: Premium: $59, Adult: $49, Concession/Groups 8+ $44, Under 30s $39, Family of 4 $156 (Max 2 Adults), School Groups 8+ $23
Web: https://merrigong.com.au/shows/as-luck-would-have-it
: https://twitter.com/merrigong
EMail: boxoffice@merrigong.com.au
Call: 02 4224 5999
Merrigong Theatre Company is thrilled to present a new Australian musical comedy by Drew Fairley, inspired by the actor and playwright’s own real-life experiences being marooned on a cruise ship during the early months of the pandemic in 2020, from 27 July – 6 August 2022.
On a mild day in March, a broken showman steps aboard a luxury cruise ship. For work. Just a little gig to pay the bills, maybe decompress a little, dust off his Hawaiian shirts, cuddle a few martinis, that kind of thing. The next day, a worldwide pandemic is declared. The ship is exiled into the middle of the Pacific Ocean with nothing but empty ballrooms for him to crack his jokes in. Trapped on the empty liner, he longs to escape, but the ocean has other plans…
With Writer and Composer, Drew Fairley leading a cast of four, As Luck Would Have It begins as a piece of stand-up comedy observing the clash between land logic and cruise ship logic, but slides into an absurdist story of life and death. One man navigates a perilous psychological journey accompanied only by the moon, an endless ocean, and his own demons. It’s the odyssey of a man drumming up mirth while he grips onto the edge of a funnel that threatens to plunge him into the abyss. With songs!
Drew Fairley says, “Nothing brings you closer to the edge of reason more effectively than some quiet time… alone. A lot of us are more familiar with the edge of our reason these days. I got extremely lost during the pandemic and comedy saved my life-well metaphorically. This play is a psychological diary of my time baying for a repatriation while actual cabin fever and a swirling feeling of doom took control. Unsurprisingly, I cracked. Who knew the bottom of your soul could be so hilarious?”
Director, Leland Kean says, “Right at the start of the madness in 2020, when everything was so uncertain in the world, when the very fabric of what we knew as life was being questioned, I saw my dear friend set adrift from his home and I just knew that we had to commission his story. The journey that we have gone on to bring it to our stage has been a deeply personal one for Drew, yet it reaches deep into the universal experience that has touched us all. It does this through a wonderful world of farce, hilarity, song and a deep long look into the abyss of grief and overcoming. This truly is a work for the ages.”
On a mild day in March, a broken showman steps aboard a luxury cruise ship. For work. Just a little gig to pay the bills, maybe decompress a little, dust off his Hawaiian shirts, cuddle a few martinis, that kind of thing. The next day, a worldwide pandemic is declared. The ship is exiled into the middle of the Pacific Ocean with nothing but empty ballrooms for him to crack his jokes in. Trapped on the empty liner, he longs to escape, but the ocean has other plans…
With Writer and Composer, Drew Fairley leading a cast of four, As Luck Would Have It begins as a piece of stand-up comedy observing the clash between land logic and cruise ship logic, but slides into an absurdist story of life and death. One man navigates a perilous psychological journey accompanied only by the moon, an endless ocean, and his own demons. It’s the odyssey of a man drumming up mirth while he grips onto the edge of a funnel that threatens to plunge him into the abyss. With songs!
Drew Fairley says, “Nothing brings you closer to the edge of reason more effectively than some quiet time… alone. A lot of us are more familiar with the edge of our reason these days. I got extremely lost during the pandemic and comedy saved my life-well metaphorically. This play is a psychological diary of my time baying for a repatriation while actual cabin fever and a swirling feeling of doom took control. Unsurprisingly, I cracked. Who knew the bottom of your soul could be so hilarious?”
Director, Leland Kean says, “Right at the start of the madness in 2020, when everything was so uncertain in the world, when the very fabric of what we knew as life was being questioned, I saw my dear friend set adrift from his home and I just knew that we had to commission his story. The journey that we have gone on to bring it to our stage has been a deeply personal one for Drew, yet it reaches deep into the universal experience that has touched us all. It does this through a wonderful world of farce, hilarity, song and a deep long look into the abyss of grief and overcoming. This truly is a work for the ages.”