As I write this, I want you to imagine me (or a version of me that your imagination fancies) dressed in a red velvet smoking jacket, a silk cravat. I want you to imagine me sitting in a book lined room, with a side table heavy with dusty tomes. Perhaps a crystal sherry glass by my side? A fire cracking and popping nearby – lighting my face with an autumnal, sunset glow… Now, imagine I am an octopus.

You are now ready to read about Alli Sebastian Wolf’s latest offering…

But first: the declarations. It was in 2010 when I met Alli via her application to Off the Shelf (A play development hothouse I was heading at the time) – she had submitted to me her giant, musical, anacronistic noir comedy: The Hideous Demise of Detective Slate. During that round, was also in development John AD Fraser’s Peace at Last – which was read by Scarlet McGlynn and Phil Spencer. Alli and Scarlet met and fell in mutual admiration. Fast forward 3 months and Brand Spanking New was in its last year – I lovingly selected Alli’s script and lovingly paired her with Scarlet McGlynn. That piece was called “The Importance of Being Earnest Dragons.” Fast forward to current day Sydney – and here is a full length glam-rock production by McGlynn and Sebastian Wolf riffing on the idea of classic re-invention.

Whereas the current trend for auteur directors re-inventing Greek classics is rife on the mainstage, there is a growing movement in the fringe and independent sector with wild fantastical comic romps. In a recent post about Patrick Lenton’s 100 Years of Lizards I triangulate the three prominent writers of this style – Patrick Lenton, Nick Coyle and Alli Sebastian Wolf. you can read about that here. It is a style of writing which is often highly literary, reliant on an appreciation of genre writing and pulp fiction embraced by self-referencial pulp-fiction pop culture. Those that dismiss this style of performance writing as “undergraduate” or “review sketch comedy” might have also referred to punk music as “noise” (which to some it is) but to others is a subversive movement and philosophy.

What is presented here is a re-thinking of literature, a re-framing of classic stories in the contemporary context. The Importance of Being Earnest Dragons, Hip Hop Hippolytus and Dante’s Glam Rock Inferno all offer a re-imagining of the stories – whilst nodding politely to their literary forebears, the main aim is for suprising entertainment. Vernacular is re-spun, images of the hero (now seen celebrity) collide with ancient quests…. and often not without parody and a bit of commentary mixed in.

And it looks great. And as it should because Alli Sebastian Wolf isn’t only a writer but a visual artist – and a team of designers have worked hard to put this together (Dylan James Tonkin, Gemma O’Nions, Allegra Holmes, Christopher Page).

For an indie co-op show – presented by Tamarama Rock Surfers/Tin Shed and Deep Sea Astronauts -McGlynn has harnessed the forces of musicians, artists and performers and steered it into an epic production. At times the performances are a little rushed or soft, which effects the pace at times, and the ensemble are hitting their marks – though at times a little self-consciously. Nothing that couldn’t be finessed had the prodcution’s resources (time/space/money) been more abundant.

The trilogy has at its heart, well… heart. Tied together with a big ribbon of love/lust/sexual urgency – this is a brave, sexy romp into literature with a glam-rock sountrack. Of course this isn’t for everyone – and it doesn’t need to be. But will be best enjoyed with your willingness to giggle (full employed), your tongue firmly in your cheek (or someone else’s).