The short: Distopia is about two friends and their attempts to survive a world “end of time” event.
The long: This show is so very much more than its tag line.
Casmira Lorien and David Salter introduce us to Cass and David, the dysfunctional children’s performers.
They live and breathe live performance like a chaotic musical theatre kid who has just seen Hamilton and now knows everything about Broadway.
However, these two friends have very differing expectations on their purpose in life. When they are quarantined in their share house due to an end of days “incident”, their lives begin to unravel in unexpected ways.
The performance is a musical play, seamlessly blending the songs into the critical moments and the choice of songs engage the audience in smart humour and poignancy.
As the quarantine progresses, Cass and David are slowly losing their minds, Lorien captures the disconnection from the outside world very well with a wide eyed insanity, her Cass following the increasingly absurd instructional living requirements without question yet still hopeful for the future.
Salter plays David with a convincing air of resignation, slowly becoming more subdued and focussed on what he has accepted as his fate. The players contrast each other beautifully, trauma bonded and using their love of Disney movies as some impotent attempt at hope.
Lorien and Salter are vocally immaculate. Lorien’s ability to mimic is used to great success during the comedic parts of the songs and her natural voice soars through the solo numbers. Lorien would not sound out of place as a Disney princess or a belting jazz singer. Her frenetic movements capture the caged pacing of a lion wanting to break free.
Salter is as equally musically impressive, multi-talented on various instruments he is a very comfortable singer in any range, taking on Be Prepared with a deep and sinister tone as well as a Frente classic in an almost indie pop twang.
For a further devolution of the character’s sanity, puppetry is introduced incredibly effectively. This reviewer snuck a peek at the audience during these scenes and the suspension of disbelief was complete, they were watching the puppet not the puppeteer.
Distopia is everything a Fringe show should be. Unique yet familiar, understandable yet absurd. Covid lockdowns contribute to our understanding of worldwide incidents and we find ourselves as audiences identifying with why Cass and David just accept their situation.
The piece is well written and fast paced giving a unique Australia element to the humour. The  music used is wonderfully arranged and the lighting and sound is used to it’s full potential.
See Distopia, you won’t want to miss it.
5 Stars