Jake Mace
Mary Floppins has cracked the shits, as they say, and we’re all invited to learn how to keep a prim and proper household. We’ve caught up with Jessica Barton, the creator of Mary Poppins Clowning parody Dirty Work for a pixelated pint ahead of the show’s run at Adelaide Fringe next month. Join us in the Binge Fringe Virtual Pub as we find out more about Mary and Jessica, and dive into what it means to be doing all the dirty work.
You can catch Dirty Work at Circulating Library, Courtyard of Curiosities between the 11th and 23rd of March (not the 17th) at various times (55 mins). Tickets are available through the Adelaide Fringe Box Office.
Jake: Hi Mary! I hear you’re coming to Adelaide Fringe to tell us all about running a prim and proper household… Could you give us an idea of what’s in store?
Mary: Do you remember the fear you once had when your mother came home, and you didn’t do the thing she asked you to do whilst she was out? Take that fear, dress it up in a Mary Poppins sleep paralysis demon, add the lustrous scent of Lynx Africa to the soundtrack of Ashnikko, and you have a sense of what’s in store for Dirty Work.
A very smart woman once said, “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and snap! The job’s a game!” I’m flying into Adelaide to help all the capable young men in the audience find the fun in cleaning, so that I can put my bloody feet up and have a cigarette, for goodness sake.
But don’t worry! I know the sound of your mother’s/girlfriend’s/sister’s/any woman’s voice asking for help, giving advice or instruction and can be a draaaaaaaain on the ears, so I’ve made it a more pleasurable performance by not speaking whatsoever! How does she do it!? ~One weird trick! Marie Kondo HATES her!~
Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Jessica: In all earnestness, I’m hoping Dirty Work will encourage the people who need to step up to step up, and the people who need to recognise their worth to recognise their worth, for the people that they love. I’m hoping to create more teams within relationships, to bring creativity and sexuality into the banal and mundane, and to ensure that no other human finds themself in the position that I was in… what position is that? Come and do the Dirty Work to find out.
Jake: Now we’re in the throes of Adelaide Fringe, what are you most excited for?
Jessica: I have been shaping, developing and performing Dirty Work in London for the last year, so I am most excited to return to home soil and do some Dirty Work in Australia for the very first time! This is also my debut season at a Fringe Festival and first time visiting the friendly and fruitful city of Adelaide, so I’m about to have a lot of ‘first’ experiences – and you always remember your first. 😉
Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Jessica: A Hot Toddy – for its clean and crisp flavour, nuanced vintage traditions (having originated in the 1610s), slight antibacterial properties to combat a slight cold or other mess of health, and the insatiable coexistence of sweet and tart…just like me.
You can catch Dirty Work at Circulating Library, Courtyard of Curiosities between the 11th and 23rd of March (not the 17th) at various times (55 mins). Tickets are available through the Adelaide Fringe Box Office.
Image Credit: Charlie Ashfield
Madeleine Martin
Kat Burton
