Josh Belperio’s SCARRED FOR LIFE changed to RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
Cabaret artist / Songwriter Josh Belperio (Adelaide Fringe award winner 2018 & 2019) will not be performing the show he advertised for the Adelaide Fringe this year, and will be bringing Fringe audiences a new show instead, called ‘Right Here, Right Now.’
The show Josh will present at Holden Street Theatres, opening this Tuesday the 11th of February, was advertised as ‘Scarred For Life,’ but 4 days away from opening night, Josh has decided he is going to do a different show instead.
Josh feels that after the summer we’ve had in Australia, that ‘the world seems a little past jokes about hallucinating on painkillers, or hospital gowns which reveal a little too much’ – the topics of his existing show, which was nominated for the 2018 Adelaide Fringe Best Cabaret Award.
Also, Josh feels ‘I’m past making jokes where I play the fool, where I make myself into a silly character for my audience’s amusement, which is how the whole start of ’Scarred For Life’ goes’.
Josh is past reciting lines from a script which someone else had to approve.
So he is throwing out the script.
Because Josh is angry.
Josh is enraged.
And Josh has channelled this rage into a bunch of new original songs.
They are about climate change and Scott Morrison and the fires and Wilson Gavin and Greta Thunberg and the experience of growing up gay in a straight man’s world.
Josh will improvise a new show around these songs.
They include Josh’s bitingly political swipe at the Prime Minister over his handling of the fire crisis, and proposed religious discrimination laws, Homo Vs Scomo (aka Dear Scott Morrison). Josh released this online earlier this year, garnering an aggregate of 50,000 views across social media platforms, and raised funds for the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.
Josh feels that ‘this approach of doing away with a script and just speaking your mind is getting back to the roots of cabaret, which is all about voicing thoughts that are political, from a perspective of a person living in the margins, and having a conversation with your audience, right here, right now.’
The show will also draw a lot from the book ‘The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the pain of growing up gay in a straight man’s world’ by Alan Downs, which is about the price of toxic shame in a gay man’s life.
Josh feels the world is broken.
Josh can’t claim to fix it in a show.
But he will sing about it.
And he wants you to gather around his keyboard in the intimate Manse at Holden Street Theatres, and join him.
The event will appear listed as ‘Right Here, Right Now (previously Scarred For Life)’ online.
Josh’s 2019 show, ‘30,000 Notes,’ received three Adelaide Fringe awards, five stars from The Advertiser, and won the Adelaide Theatre Guide Curtain Call Award for Best Cabaret.
Praise for Josh’s past work has included:
“…a musicality that is equal parts Minchin and Mozart.” ★★★★★ – Scenestr
“…one of the most sincere and emotional moments I have seen on stage.” ★★★★★ – Scene TV
“…one of the most personal and poignant shows this reviewer has seen.” ★★★★★ – Glam Adelaide
“I cried, I laughed, I cheered, and my heart almost exploded with joy… ”★★★★★ – The Upside News
“…a series of comical and clever songs on the piano, reminiscent of Tim Minchin.”★★★★★ – Mindshare Australia
“…comedic songwriting which I would liken to Sammy J and Tim Minchin…” ★★★★1/2 – The Serenade Files
“Man falls off bike, Becomes star” – Andrew Bolt, The Herald Sun
