He Died With a Felafel in His Hand
Fringe Club, Tues-Sept 4
The Australian comedy He Died With a Felafel in His Hand is being staged by WAG Productions at the Fringe from Tuesday to September 4, and word on the street is that it is filthy - but in a cheeky, not smutty, way.
'It is rather rude,' says director Wendy Herbert, a drama professional in Hong Kong. 'Actually, it's very rude, with lots of sex and drugs.'
There is, however, no violence, and the lewd elements of this Australian rite-of-passage romp are all in good fun. The play is based on a best-selling 1994 book of the same title by John Birmingham, made into a movie in 2001.
The story follows Birmingham as he moves from residence to residence in shared-houses all over Australia. The characters he encounters form the basis of the series of vignettes presented in the play - 47 of these characters are played by 16 actors. The title refers to a heroin addict (David Jenkins, above) who is found dead in one of the houses.
To help bring the colourful story to life, Herbert has enlisted a number of Hong Kong amateur acting mainstays, including Samuel Craig and banker David Wilkinson. Perhaps the most intriguing addition to the cast, however, is Ryan Bautista (aka La Chiquitta), one of Hong Kong's pre-eminent drag queens.
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