More than 40 years after the inaugural Festival of Surrealisms, West Footscray resident Bill Marshall is gearing up for the seventh running of the festival.
Also known as Captain W.N. Fish, Marshall is producing the festival at Temperance Hall in South Melbourne from 1pm to 10pm on Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23.
Presented by 20th Century Fish and Endless Optimism, Marshall and his fellow co-producer Marco Lawrence are set to provide audiences with a range of different acts, including dadaistic poetry, unusual musical offerings, comedy, strange theatrical performances, psychedelic films and avant-garde experimental sound.
“Last year’s festival featured such sweetly weird items as George Orwell eviscerating Salvador Dali, inflatable beach toys, death metal, infinite collage, kamishibai, nudity and baked beans,” Marshall said.
“This year, we have the promise of more fun and frivolity, not to mention stupendous surreality.”
This year’s lineup will include performances from Marty MonStar, Eddy Burger, Libby Charlton, Steve Smart, Awkward Giraffe, Doctor Gonzo, as well as a number of film screenings, including ‘Fantasy Man’ and ‘The Ballad of Captain Fish’.
Marshall is an award-winning surrealist playwright and the editor of absurdo-surrealist magazine True Confusions.
The seventh festival will see a return to its roots, with Temperance Hall being the same location as the Australian Nouveau Theatre or the Anthill, which under the guidance of artistic director Jean-Pierre Mignon, staged a number of avant-garde theatrical productions and hosted the fourth Festival of Surrealisms in 1981.
Tickets are available for $30 or $20 for concession holders per day.
Details: eventbrite.com/e/544913570157
Matthew Sims
