Theatre & Opera Director, Artistic Producer, Writer
Fat Boy
FAT BOY by Kate Gaul
Directed by Nick Atkins
Performed by Tom Christopherson
MAYDAY writers festival, Tap Gallery 2013
Originally performed by Michael Cutrupi as part of Bondi Feast 2012
"Kate Gaul’s Fat Boy, performed by Tom Christophersen and directed by Nick
Atkins, is almost doubtless my favourite of a fondly-regarded bunch, for its
sheer, unbridled, surreal imagination. Christophersen’s performance is nighon
perfect; again, thanks in large measure to a director with the utmost in
sympathetic resonance with Gaul’s vision. Or perhaps it’s I that chimes loudest,
since, sadly, like Fat Boy, I’ve an unusual appetite for donuts. Or anything
sweet. Fat Boy, the play (and its narrator) has a wicked sense of humour. Take
this, for example: “His mother died in childbirth. Unrelated?” Fat Boy grew up,
tragically, in the suburbs of Hobart and was driven to doughnuts, at least in
part, by his brothers’ mega millions win, which they chose not to share with
him, despite his name being on the ticket. Doughnuts and disco dancing. As
you do. Who would’ve thought he’d be capable of superheroism? But then,
Clark Kent was a nerd. Fat Boy is more of a treat than churros dipped in hot
chocolate." Crikey - Curtain Call
Kate Gaul’s Fat Boy is celebrated as a wildly original work of theatrical imagination — darkly funny, deeply strange and unexpectedly tender. In a standout performance by Tom Christophersen, the play followed an outsider from suburban Hobart whose obsessions with doughnuts, disco and superhero fantasy became the basis for an offbeat meditation on loneliness, desire and resilience.
Critics praised Gaul’s wicked humour, surreal storytelling and emotional intelligence, describing the work as both hilariously eccentric and surprisingly moving. Crikey – Curtain Call called it “almost doubtless my favourite” of the festival, applauding Gaul’s “sheer, unbridled, surreal imagination” and comparing the experience to “churros dipped in hot chocolate” — irresistible, excessive and utterly satisfying.
Michael Cutrupi Bondi Feast 2012
