Written by David Innes. Directed by Rob Lloyd.
A tale of adventure from the perspective of Axel (Innes). His uncle, Professor Otto Liedenbrock (Lloyd), plans to follow the trail of a renowned Icelandic alchemist to reach the centre of the earth. With only Messrs.’ Innes & Lloyd on stage to bring to life a cavalcade of mad scientists, earnest everymen, silent strong types & prehistoric beasts live on stage and one hour to do it in, Innes Lloyd guarantee a swash-buckling, rip-roaring interpretation of this Jules Verne classic! |
Cast and Crew
DAVID S. INNES
Axel Writer Sound & Image Design Puppet Construction |
ROBERT LLOYD
Professor Otto Liedenbrock Hans Director Flipchart Designer and Illustrator |
JAKLENE VUKASINOVIC
Technical Director CHRISTIAN BIZZARRI Song - "Welcome to the Underground" MATTHEW HADGRAFT Music - "Quaternary Man" and "The Sea Battle" PHOTOGRAPHY Fabrizio Evans FILMOGRAPHY Nick Hill Productions |
About the Show
PERFORMANCE HISTORY
10th - 16th April 2017, The Butterfly Club Melbourne (Original Version)
7th - 12th March 2023, The Alley Cat - Rhino Room, Adelaide. (Revamped and Remounted Version)
28th - 30th September 2023, The Butterfly Club Melbourne (Revamped and Remounted Version)
BACKGROUND
Journey to the Centre of the Earth was the first adaptation of a text Innes Lloyd have created for the stage. The idea was inspired by Rob Lloyd seeing an adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days and remarking to Innes, "We could do that... but better.".
The initial adaptation was written over a space of a week during the Adelaide Fringe Festival of 2017. The original premise of the show was that the pair wanted to present a tribute to the story, where Innes wanted to present a true homage to the original text, whilst Lloyd wanted to make references to every single audio, film and television adaption that existed. Hilarity was bound to ensue.
The show was initially performed during the 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival downstairs at The Butterfly Club. Upon reflection, the work was "solid" but not as great as it could have been. Jamming in-jokes and references into the script possibly isn't as endearing as one would hope.
10th - 16th April 2017, The Butterfly Club Melbourne (Original Version)
7th - 12th March 2023, The Alley Cat - Rhino Room, Adelaide. (Revamped and Remounted Version)
28th - 30th September 2023, The Butterfly Club Melbourne (Revamped and Remounted Version)
BACKGROUND
Journey to the Centre of the Earth was the first adaptation of a text Innes Lloyd have created for the stage. The idea was inspired by Rob Lloyd seeing an adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days and remarking to Innes, "We could do that... but better.".
The initial adaptation was written over a space of a week during the Adelaide Fringe Festival of 2017. The original premise of the show was that the pair wanted to present a tribute to the story, where Innes wanted to present a true homage to the original text, whilst Lloyd wanted to make references to every single audio, film and television adaption that existed. Hilarity was bound to ensue.
The show was initially performed during the 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival downstairs at The Butterfly Club. Upon reflection, the work was "solid" but not as great as it could have been. Jamming in-jokes and references into the script possibly isn't as endearing as one would hope.
Jump forward to 2023 where the pair have remounted the show for the Adelaide Fringe. The show was completely rewritten by Innes, keeping in the material that worked and discarding the rest that... er... 'tried'. As a result, a thumping great show was produced.
REVIEWS: "The dynamic duo, David Innes and Robert Lloyd have the audience in the palm of their hand from beginning to end, with their sense of humour, impeccable timing and stage craft. They frolic through this wonderful tribute with great pop culture references, an excellent flip chart as a guide, toe tapping song and dance numbers, and in true Innes Lloyd fashion, their fun facts section, what really shines through is the fun they are having themselves, doing what they love. That fun and joy is infectious and takes you on a magnificent ride." - Theatre Matters, 2023 "These two prats or rather brattish witty chaps have concocted a surreal trip steeped in popular culture inspired by Monty Python‘s seventies comedic formula, meshing lashings of irony with doses of bawdy humour. They work symbiotically to illustrate their eccentric interpretation of this much-loved science fiction novel." - Stage Whispers, 2023. "The two men gel flawlessly with their act and lovingly tell this classic story with great ease. I particularly liked how passionate they were but yet at the same time, they didn’t take themselves too seriously and at times happily took things off script, making the show more dynamic and enjoyable. I have personally never read a Jules Verne novel but I loved their storytelling. You don’t even have to be a big fan of the work they’re retelling, since they make it so easy to follow, and it’s so much fun to watch as everything unfolds. Innes and Lloyd aim to please." - Lilithia Reviews, 2023. "Innes and Lloyd are almost vaudevillian in their approach, and they constantly engage and delight the audience – the pace never drags! Their script is a celebration of language: it’s intelligent, witty, well written and always funny (with no reliance on ‘blue’ language to get the audience laughing!). They quickly put smiles on the face of everyone in the room, which stay there and get broader as the show progresses. This reviewer’s face ached!" - The Barefoot Review, 2023. |