A “unique” one-man show performed without a set, sound or props will come to the Geelong region for the first time tonight at Drysdale’s Potato Shed.
Monodrama Swansong stars award-winning Melbourne-born actor Andre De Vanny who takes on a troubled outcast.
“A lot of people think a one-person show is when a performer plays like 17 different characters,” De Vanny said.
“But this is unique as it’s the story of just one character.“
Set in the ’60s, Austin ’Occi’ Byrne is an illegitimate child of a single mother in the catholic west of Ireland.
Shunned by church, state and family, Occi must fight his way to adulthood.
Violent, tragic and hauntingly tender, Swansong is the story of a lost soul in search of home, said De Vanny.
“Occi is a really amazing character, he gets barrelled into this nightmare scenario, but is still an optimist,” he said.
“He’s a pretty out-there character that goes into the grey area, nothing is black or white.”
The 34-year-old has being performing the show on-and-off for three years with sell-out seasons in New York, Los Angeles and Melbourne last year.
“I’ve played this character so many times now. But revisiting it over the last six months on this tour, it’s kind of like grieving an old friend,” he said.
“Preparing for this show I like to physically and mentally give myself time and space to go back in that world.”
The actor said he “loves the challenge” of taking on a solo performance without the extras as it allows him to enter “a world of pure imagination”.
“There’s nowhere to hide, you can’t be complacent or lazy, it demands incredible focus, concentration and depth,” he said.
De Vanny has worked extensively in film television and theatre across Australia and the US for more than 15 years.
He got his big break when he starred in the international hit series at age 18.
“I was a dancer all my life and was set on that, but then I got a role in the TV show Wicked Science,” he said.
“I was shooting five days a week during my year 12 exams, it was pretty intense.
“I feel like it’s a bit of a funny journey, most people do theatre and then do television but I’ve done it the other way around.”
De Vanny said he hopes Swansong challenges the audience’s perceptions and evoke compassion from others.
“It’s something that encourages you to have empathy for the people that slip through the cracks,” he said.
