Next week the team at the Boyz Award-winning Above The Stag Theatre present Bitches Down Under! It’s the third comedy featuring a bonkers group of friends we met in the hits Alright Bitches! and Bitches Ahoy! Dave Cross had a catch up with director Andrew Beckett to find out more about the gang’s brand new Australian adventure.
Hi Andrew, this is the third Bitches story at Above The Stag, are you happy to be back with them?
When we started with a fun little comedy set in Gran Canaria, Alright Bitches!, I never thought we would make it to a third chapter. I am beyond thrilled that we’ve been able to follow the Bitches on so many adventures. We embarked on a gay cruise in Bitches Ahoy! and now we’re taking you up the outback in Bitches Down Under!
Is it the same group of characters as before?
In the first play we were introduced to our Bitches, Garth, Max, and Fat Pam, and they met a couple (Ollie and Jason) on holiday in Gran Canaria. The play ended with Ollie and Jason calling it quits and moving on, so in the sequel we followed our Bitches onto their next holiday on a gay cruise ship. Garth had brought his new boyfriend Drew, and Pam had her French fiancé Patrice, whom she quickly cast away after learning his true colours. Now, in the final chapter the Bitches are going down under for Garth’s pending nuptials with Drew. There, they bump into an old friend, Ollie from Gran Canaria, and there is a new boy in town, Scott, the sexy Australian lifeguard.
And is the cast the same this time?
When we discussed the prospect of a third outing, Peter Bull, our Artistic Director, and I agreed that we couldn’t do this without the original Bitches, and I’m delighted that Ethan, Lucas and Hannah have returned to play Garth, Max, and Fat Pam for a third time.
What else can you tell us about the story?
Without giving too much away, our Bitches find themselves in sunny Sydney. Garth and Drew are en route to their wedding, but they’ve stopped over for a last hurrah at Mardi Gras, with Max and Pam in tow. Throw in a hot surfer and an unexpected encounter, and we’ll be finishing off this story Bitches-style; booze fuelled, sex-driven/deprived, and with plenty of witty one-liners.
So it’s set in Sydney at Mardi Gras?
Sydney’s Mardi Gras is in full swing, and the festive atmosphere brings our camp cohorts to a beach bar under the hot sun; there to enjoy every cocktail they can still pronounce, every Kylie song they can remember, and every guy who doesn’t move fast enough.
Are there any particular Aussie cultural references we should be looking out for?
Our wonderful writer, Martin Blackburn, has squeezed in so much Aussie culture that his budgie smugglers wouldn’t make it through border control. From Prisoner Cell Block H to Kylie, it’s a wonder he can fit them all in.
Where next for the Bitches? Could they visit Trump’s America or maybe outer space?
So far, we’ve made no bones about this being the final chapter for the Bitches. But the possibilities really are endless; wherever there’s a gay man with a daiquiri in hand and a cutting remark to be made, there’s room for us. Like the Carry On films, there’s always a new situation into which our characters can inject their particular brand of hot sticky fun. Aloha Bitches; Bitches in Botswana; It’s Raining Pussies and Bitches, Bitch Please, we could go on for ever!
Tickets from abovethestag.com.
Above the Stag, 17 Miles Street, Vauxhall, SW8.
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