Accidentally Maple Street

"Well, you've just gotta laugh"

At last Maleny has a chance to look at the Woolworths debate with fresh eyes. Simon Denver, multi-award winning author, playwright, director, actor, bon vivant, raconteur and long-time resident assembled a stellar cast of local talent to present "Accidentally Maple Street" - a light hearted and, at times, pointed revue of recent events.

Anthea opening the show with "Accidentally Maple Street"

The Musicians - with Paul Clements on guitar - provided outstanding backing for the many musical numbers in the show.

The comperes _ Simon and Peter demonstrating the serene indifference and coruscating wit that became the evening's hallmark.

Paul Clements and one of the several Platypuses give a heart-wrenching rendition of "Aren't I pretty Enough?"

One of the many highlights of the evening was David Rabbitborough's timeless classic - "The Hunt", a penetrating documentary on the lives and deaths of some of Maleny's most feared residents - the Ferals.

Featured previously on Sandra Sullidge's series "The Hunt" offered the enthralled audience a uncompromising look at these creatures and their predators. Although recorded years earlier, the message was as meaningful and the content as contemporary as ever.

A tense moment in the evening was artfully defused as Simon adroitly dealt with spirited and, at times, abusive heckling from an isolated malcontent.

The fortuitous support from the Art Queensland's "Grant Rapid Response Rota" (GRRR for short) allowed new levels of unstinting expenditure (although some Voices and Visionarys say there may have been a precedent).

The Feminist, placenta-eating, group "Lactate" - fresh from the Woodford Folk Fiasco Festival at huge expense - portrayed their take on the town in an undulating wailing wall of sound and movement.

As things became more heated on stage, the comperes resorted to "Dean Brothers tactics" to clear the stage.

In one of those earth-shattering incidents where life imitates art or, perhaps, art imitates life, Simon and Peter ruthlessly removed obstructions from the stage area to clear the way for further developments.

It was hard to pick who was more delighted - the left or the right - when Simon was ununanimously awarded one of Maleny's highest civil honours - The coveted "Voice of Maleny" community award

Despite fierce competition, Simon's clever use of amplification and the backing of an unseen Pauline Clayton saw the show's creator snatch the prized title from a group of vociferous but unco-operative contenders in the "Speak with One Voice" segment of the show.

Toying with audience's emotions proved child's-play for the troupe as they took to the air waves with the Radio Play - a cunningly reworked and upbeat version of the "Rocky Horror Platypus Show".

You can see here the clever on-stage use of live scripts which has come to be another hallmark of the Director's characteristic style (in a recent interview he claimed it cut down on rehearsal times and allowed accelerated development schedules for his works.)

Just as things seemed to be coming to a heart-warming finale - terror was unleashed in the community centre as a giant mutant platypus lurched erratically from backstage - seemingly bent on devouring everyone in its path.

The desperate entreaties of diplomats from the platypus embassy fell on deaf ears - as the slavering monster fought its way free of the curtains.

Unimpressed by the many "I won't shop there" badges sprinkled liberally around the room the creature created much alarm and panic until it was successfully exterminated with extreme prejudice.

It was noted that Australia's anti-terrorist measures had spectacularly failed on this occasion and a steering committee was formed on the spot to look into the advisability of forming a sub-committee to conduct an urgent feasibility study on the need for Australia to recognise and develop effective counter-measures to deal with the "terror from within".

Fergus Reilly