By arts editor HELEN MUSA

Five actors will take on 39 characters in a fast-moving production of Mark Brown’s adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days, directed and produced by Honest Puck Theatre’s James Scott.

Based on Jules Verne’s classic adventure, the story follows Phileas Fogg, played by Brendan Kelly, who wagers that he can travel around the world in just 80 days.

What follows is a theatrical race across continents involving trains, ships, elephants, missed connections, an unexpected romance and the persistent attentions of Detective Fix, who is convinced Fogg is a wanted bank robber.

Rather than attempting to recreate the scale of Verne’s journey literally, Brown’s adaptation makes the challenge part of the comedy. The five performers conjure dozens of characters and locations through rapid transformations, physical performance and theatrical invention.

One cast member, Leo Amadeus, the director’s son, plays 16 different characters during the evening.

Scott says the production also has a strong Canberra connection, with all five cast members current or former Perform Australia teachers, three of whom originally trained there as students.

The cast includes a father and son pairing, with Scott playing Detective Fix alongside Leo. They previously performed together in Danny the Champion of the World in Canberra in 2020, when Leo was 12.

“We don’t have to put a train, an elephant or a steamship on stage,” Scott said. “Five actors, some suitcases and an audience can create all of that together. The fun comes from watching the performers solve the problems the story keeps throwing at them.”

“This is the kind of show where the audience can see the machinery of theatre working,” he said.

“You watch an actor disappear offstage as one character and return seconds later as somebody completely different. Sometimes they don’t even get offstage. There’s a lot of precision underneath it, but the result should feel playful and spontaneous.”

And, Scott adds, the production features a “fairly heroic collection of suitcases”.

Around the World in 80 Days, Perform Australia Theatre, Reed Street, Tuggeranong, October 24 to 31. Bookings here.

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