Job’s Right – The Second Coat comes to Nambour & Noosa. A Chat with Simon Denver

Job’s Right – The Second Coat

A Chat With Simon Denver

After their sell-out season at The Events Centre, Caloundra, we caught up with Sunshine Coast based Writer & Director of SRT, Simon Denver.

 

Job’s Right – The Second Coat hits Nambour (May 28, 29 & 30) and Noosa (June 3, 4 & 6) next!

 

The client wants “an oasis of calm” so the boys (and girl) do their level best to oblige.

But something is lost in translation and anything that can go wrong GOES WRONG!

Simon, tell us about Job’s Right – The Second Coat.

A brutal, gladiatorial onslaught – that just happens to be really funny! There are 30, 000 job sites in Australia. This is none of them yet it’s all of them. A no holds barred, warts ‘n all look at Tradies. It contemptuously ignores the lines in crosses.

Job’s Right was a smash hit the first time around. To what do you attribute its success?

It struck a chord with so many people – especially Tradies. Brave, Raw, Earthy and Funny.

What else have you been doing? Why did it take so long to bring a second job site show to the Sunshine Coast?

Timing mainly. Everyone has a full life and it takes a while to line them all up. Besides, We kept this junk yard dog on a short chain for as long as we dare. It’s nasty. It’s hungry, it’s a bit stir crazy! Perfect time to let it off the chain.

You’ve used a few of the original actors but who’s new? How did you find them? How do you cast a show like Job’s Right?

You cast it with great care. The engine house of this show is the gang of painters. Three of these were in the original production. In fact, of the cast of eight, four were in the original. We looked for the chemistry first. We see a lot of shows locally every year so we are very aware who is out there. Watching someone perform is the ultimate audition.

Tell us about SRT & Job’s Right Productions. For what sort of theatre are you known?

I suppose you’d have to ask our critics that question. It’s very hard to be objective about our own work. I would like to think it is of a good standard though.

What drew you to live theatre? What’s special about it?

It’s in real time and there are no safety nets.

Who is doing the sort of work you like to see?

We’ve always liked brave or edgy material that pushes the envelope. But at the end of the day we like anything that is done properly. In the community theatre circles on the coast  Noosa Arts Theatre is head and shoulders above the rest – always delivering a high production standard. From the independent theatres XS Entertainment are blazing a very successful trail.

Thank you, Simon! #mutualadmirationsociety 

What do we need to keep seeing (or start seeing) on stage in Australia?

Works that are not held to ransom by the arts “Process”. Works that are not confined to the new economic paradigm of casts of four or under. Works that have not had to compromise by ticking the right boxes for funding! In short – works free of external agendas.

Who has influenced your work (actors, directors, producers)?

Everyone! Amateur or professional, good or bad, every show is a learning experience. Some totally reinforce what you should never do on a stage – some give you the inspiration to carry on. But we love any show that slaps us in the face and reminds us how much we have to learn.

Tell us about the creative process – as actor / writer / director.

This is genuine ensemble product. Brett (Klease) and I merely present a skeletal frame of a script and then the cast takes it and runs with it. Adapt and assimilate, personalise through consensus.

 

The entire cast then have a sense of ownership with the end product. This is really reflected in the performances. They have to be brave. But then again – as Goethe said – boldness has a genius all of its own.

 

Cast from L-R: Anna McMahon, Shane Cassidy, Brett Klease, Brad Thomson, Clayton Storey. Not pictured: Joy Marshall, Darren Heskes, Sam Coward

 

Do you have some hot tips for aspiring actors / writers / directors?

Learn to be ruthlessly truthful with yourselves. Learn to self edit. Be focused and disciplined – because only then does the real fun start.

Who will enjoy Job’s Right – The Second Coat?

Anyone who has a good sense of humour. Anyone who has had a gut full of the bureaucratic nonsense dictating what we can and can’t do, or laugh at.

What’s next?

Probably spend the next three years in court fending off all those charges from those we offended too much!

Book tix for Job’s Right – The Second Coat at Nambour Civic Centre

 

 

Book tix for Job’s Right – The Second Coat at The J, Noosa