A gothic tale
The Cars That Ate Paris
Dates
1992
Ensign Smash Repairs, Clifton Hill
Melbourne
(July)
Performed in a large crash repair garage in Melbourne, The Cars that Ate Paris involved performer and musician as composer, utilising the improvisation skills of singers and instrumentalists to create vocal lines and accompaniment.
Based on Australian writer/director Peter Weir’s film of the same name, this macabre story is set in the small rural town of Paris where the inhabitants live off the proceeds of staged road accidents. As Arthur, the survivor of one such accident, overcomes his phobia of cars, we learn the gruesome truth of this gothic outback township.
Instrumentation sop., bar., ten., 2 actors, acrobat, pf., sampler, elec. vln., environmental perc.
“An imaginative and visually arresting piece of music theatre…
Awards
- Nominated for Production in Opera, Green Room Awards
Text and Original Film
Peter WeirStage Adaptation and Direction
Douglas HortonDesign
Jacqueline EverittLighting
Philip LethleanSound
Darren GoldingMusic
The EnsemblePerformers
Hope Csuturos, Scott Grayland, Judy Gunson, David Joseph, Tyrone Landau, Helen Noonan, David Sandford, Grant Smith.