Imagine that you’ve never been to the beach and your one wish for your 21st birthday is to see the incomparable beaches of Boorloo. Just as you’re ready to step onto the white sand, you find yourself plonked in a stuffy, fluorescent-lit office with a grumpy Aussie border control officer.
For The Princess, yes that’s her full name, this is her new reality. After living in a fairytale her whole life, she’s given a rude awakening by the Australian Border Force, who are not buying her story that she has arrived in Boorloo via her fairy godmother’s magic, with no visa, wanting to work, in a castle albeit, and with live animals.
Bibbity Bobbity Boorloo is a delightful, playful and comedic show produced by Fringe Festival stalwarts Bright Side Productions. The show unravels almost like an unintentional standoff between The Princess, played by Amy Fortnum, and officer Nicole, played by Hannah Julii Anderson. Nicole is already exhausted by her job, and the last thing she needs is to be stuck with a delusional girl claiming to be from some ridiculously named, far-away magical place. As they try to see eye to eye, an unlikely friendship forms, with lessons in free will and living life to its fullest emerging.
The writing revels in classic fairytale tropes and equally classic Australian stereotypes and in-jokes. I’m yet to see Amy Fortnum in a show I don’t like, and it’s brilliant to see her talents in acting, singing and her comedic chops once more. Her voice in particular is spectacular. It sparkles like a true Disney princess’s, leaving you wanting more, even if the songs themselves are intentionally grating. Hannah Julii Anderson is a great counterpart in this two-hander, bringing a true no-bullshit attitude and a healthy dose of cynicism to the stage through her disgruntled character. It’s nice to see how their relationship and dynamic progresses through the piece, as they find brightness within a dark, dingy bureaucratic setting…
Bibbity Bobbity Boorloo is on at the Jonesway Theatre from Feb 5-7.