HI, CAN I HELP YOU? to Play Melbourne Fringe Festival 2017
Join retail assistant, Grace, as she invites you into her musical imagination, a place brimming with tragic optimism, kooky shoe puppet companions and rather questionable customer service. Hi, Can I Help You? is a pop up shoe shop cabaret where the mundane becomes vibrant, and the lonely can embrace true friendship.
Through the fusion of comedy, original songs and the truly awe-inspiring and clever use of shoe puppetry, Hi, Can I Help You? A Comedy Cabaret of Retail and Loneliness invites audiences to entertain the importance of human connection as they are stuck in the all too familiar situation of a retail assistant who just won't let you escape. Sophie Banister's performance of Grace is not only familiar; it's incredibly hilarious and endearing as she does everything she can to help you, her customers, and her shoe friends, while she is the one who might actually need help.
Everyone knows that it's hard to make a career in the arts, and this struggle just happens to be a great source of inspiration for creator and performer, Sophie Banister. From working in multiple retail jobs to support her artistic endeavours, combined with a heavy background in children's theatre and puppetry, Hi, Can I Help You? brings the ordinary, everyday interactions into hyperactive technicolor. With a nostalgic style from household children's entertainment names and the dark reality of feeling stuck and alone, this show is a desperate cry for optimism and naivety in today's world dripping with stress and anxiety.
Fresh from an acclaimed performance at Brisbane's Short+Sweet Festival, Hi, Can I Help You? joins Melbourne Fringe Festival with the Victorian Debut for creator and performer, Sophie Banister and producer and puppeteer, Ellie Wilson. With an extremely limited season of six performances at The Butterfly Club, you will not want to miss a night of desperation, friendship and lyrical genius anyone who has worked in customer service can't live without.
IF YOU GO:
Hi, Can I Help You? A Comedy Cabaret of Retail and Loneliness
Dates: 13-18 September
Time: 7pm
Cost: $25-32
Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Tickets: thebutterflyclub.com
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