August 2009
Performance attendants:
David Wells, Jesse Stevens, Adam Sutardy, Alex Ben-Mayor, Nicky Forster, Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey.
After flying in from different directions in the middle of the night, we assembled the team and the megaphones in a large shed on Darwin’s outskirts, guided expertly by “Mad-dog” our stunning support person and stage manager.
The following day commenced a storming tour of Darwin sites, including Charles Darwin University, where a lot of students had trouble finding us, Smith Street Mall, where there was no trouble finding a crowd, Palmerston, where we made our own crowd, the new Foreshore precinct at Darwin Harbour, in which “the lone swimmer” made a debut megaphone appearance, and a grand finale at Mindil Beach, following a day of intense performance in the Reserve behind the dune.
An incidental crowd of several thousand shared our tribute to the Darwin spirit, with impromptu performances of “the lost boy”, “red horns in the sunset” and other vignettes, before packing up in record time to leave David and Jesse in charge of the children’s brigade the following weekend. Thanks to the Festival for the opportunity and thanks especially to the Darwin team of performers, who taught us the model for local partnerships (and how to get to the best restaurants).