Reality is the way to go

The arrival of the Australian production of Mary Poppins is terrific news for theatre in this country, with the buzz surrounding the show greater than so many in recent years. Indeed, it looks certain to be one of our great success stories.

The arrival of the Australian production of Mary Poppins is terrific news for theatre in this country, with the buzz surrounding the show greater than so many in recent years. Indeed, it looks certain to be one of our great success stories.

Whenever big shows like this happen, it is terrific to see the media coverage and general interest that converges on musical theatre. If only every show garnered such acclaim, and if only one show’s success guaranteed success for the industry as a whole.

There was a lot of talk before Verity Hunt-Ballard was cast in Mary Poppins surrounding the possibility that the lead role would be cast via a reality television program, similar to other concepts around the world.

Last Sunday night, as Australia showed its true colours by moving the Federal Election debate for the sake of a cooking show, I felt the full power of a reality television program.

Yes, it was MasterChef night and unfortunately, I was out-voted in my household and I spent a couple of hours watching amateur chefs work out which sauce was which and how to make a great omelette.

Whilst I didn’t follow the show through its entire life, I accept its amazing success in Australia, and the fact that as an industry, cooking is suddenly revered. Coles even put some recent success down to the fact that they have a major partnership with MasterChef.

Think about it for a second – a reality television program about amateur chefs becoming superstars. Somebody at some stage had a vision, and I would presume that somewhere along the line, there was some roadblocks put up by the industry itself.

In the end, however, the show emerged as a major success and the industry is revelling in its success.

So many of these shows over the years have had similar impacts. Australian Idol instantly springs to mind – no matter what you think of it, it cannot be denied that the show provided a springboard for some sensational Australian talent. LIVE talent that has slowly crept away with the advent of pubs with poker machines and of course, the boom in home entertainment.

It is time for the Australian theatre industry to seriously look at a reality television show as a way to boost interest in musicals here. The end result, if the show is a success, would be moving the industry towards a strong mainstream following, something it seriously lacks at the moment. Yes, it is true that the general public attend shows in their thousands, but there’s a terrible gap and that is that people forget about the industry as soon as the curtain comes down. They are not interested in the stars, the behind the scenes goings on etc, and they need to be, particularly if media coverage is going to improve.

Someone out there will eventually do a deal to take the industry in this direction and it is something we need to embrace when it happens.