Review – A Brief History of Beer
Grab a beer and embrace the bizarre. Trish Parry and Will Glenn from Wish Theatre Company are here to take you on a cross-continental, time-travelling journey in their Quantum Pint Machine through the highlights of beer history, from the beginnings of brewing in ancient Iraq through to today. The journey involves multimedia, physical comedy, cheesy accents and a mystery to be solved: how did beer become hijacked by big business?
Dressed in amber tunics to match their favourite beverage, Trish and Will are enthusiastic performers who love hamming up the acting as much as they love the Nectar of the Gods. They have great theatrical chemistry and their silliness is infectious. Between gags, the duo impart plenty of historical factoids about beer; if you’re a beer buff you may know it all already, but I know I learnt plenty of beer trivia. The Franco-Prussian war, Saint Brigid, Bavarian monks, Prohibition, Finnish folklore and the Industrial Age all feature as stops along the Beer-tinuum. Coopers rates a special mention as the only major brewery still Australian owned, and the message to embrace unique and full-flavoured brews is one that reaches a receptive audience in the Wheatsheaf venue.
It would be a nice touch if the ticket price to A Brief History of Beer included a drink voucher, but then again the target audience members are not those who need an excuse to enjoy a beverage. Sit somewhere you can see the screen and make sure you’ve got a full pint, as you’ll be asked to drink along – all in the name of ensuring the spacecraft stays at appropriate “fermentation levels”, of course. Now perhaps it’s the beer talking, but I think its time for another round.
