The real story of Australia’s Emu War is so bizarre that if you tried to sell it to a movie producer, they’d reject it as being too fantastical.
In summary – in Western Australia in 1932, farmers found their crops being attacked by Emus. They called on the federal government for assistance. Soldiers duly arrived, deployed machine guns, and shot at, and killed. maybe 500 of an estimated flock of 20,000 birds. In short, the operation was a disaster, both in terms of failing to achieve its objective, and for the embarrassment caused to the politicians and senior military figures involved.
Lotte Pearl (Music, Lyrics, Book) and Toby Little (Music) have taken this event, and added some human interest and relatable characters, to provide this curious moment from history with an entertaining and thought provoking narrative.
Steve and Greg are farmers, and friends. They are also both veterans of World War 1. Whilst these two characters are fictional, they’re based on testimonies from genuine ex-soldiers, who, on their return home after the cessation of hostilities, were gifted land to farm.
It’s now 1932, and the depression is beginning to bite in Australia. The land the returning Australian Heroes have been given is of marginal agricultural quality, but they’ve been promised subsidies to grow wheat, to keep Australia fed during the economic downturn. Of course, the subsidies haven’t actually been paid yet, and – spoilers – they never will be.
There’s also a delicate political situation in the form of the state of Western Australia threatening to secede from Australia, a mere three decades after Federation brought the states and territories together to create a country (moderately) free from British control.
With the veterans feeling abandoned, the state government threatening to destabilise the union, and now flocks of increasingly angry birds attacking the wheat belt, something needs to be done.
The solution comes in the form of Secretary of Defence Sir George Pearce, who agrees to help, and who recruits trigger happy Major Meredith to actually undertake the culling. These were both real people, who really took part in this exercise.
From there, much fiction and imagined occurrences are woven into a musical which is delightful, but which currently feels under-developed.
Some plot points which are resolved in the latter parts of the action could have been introduced or foreshadowed earlier in the story – including the plot tid-bit that the Emu is the national bird of Australia.
The stakes – which were considerable, given the threat to Australia’s ability to feed itself – seem to be regarded as of lesser importance, but the human story being told could have supported the weight of multiple plot points.
There are some lovely songs, and the cast of six (although the poster features seven), all work incredibly hard as they all play multiple roles throughout.
The realisation of the Emus is constrained by the obviously tiny budget, but is done well, and with the most terrifying Emu hiss noises to be brought to a stage this Fringe.
The actual ‘conflict’ is dispatched quickly, reflecting that the overall pace felt patchy. The last third is the strongest, the middle requires the most work – but almost certainly merely in terms of additional content being added – and the initial section would probably benefit from greater character development, to set up the conclusions.
Overall, this is a strong story, well told, and further revision and expansion should make the production even stronger.
Witty, lightly queer and with buckets of heart, The Emu War is a fun romp through a bizarre moment of Australian history.
The Emu War: A New Musical continues at Pleasance Courtyard – Pleasance Two (venue 33) at 12 noon until August 25th (not 14th)
Feature Image Credit: Ed Felton
