The fictional character of Don Juan has been the centre point of so many books, plays, films and operas. Don Juan is known for taking great pride in his skills of seduction, often disguising himself and assuming other personalities in order to seduce women. His story is also peppered with violence and gambling, and in most connotations of the story, involves a murder.
At this year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival, a fresh production of Don Juan will be at the Space Theatre, for three performances only. Audiences will revel in this ludicrously sexy tale of the original master of seduction, presented by a troupe of five “French” performers as they bring this classic tale to the stage, in a mixture of brilliant physical comedy, twisted pop songs and explosive wit, directed by the award-winning Leo Gene Peters.
“This production is a real raucous, crazy and slightly out-there celebration. It’s performed by five “French” performers, who have outlandish, over the top, bad French accents. They talk to you as they come in and they speak to you in such a way that you can’t help but smile and feel good about yourself. It just brightens your day. The show is a lot of fun, and these performers tell the story of Don Juan and get the audience to play along at times. The audience participation is completely by choice – if you don’t feel comfortable, the cast will respect that and back away from you. Everyone gets to play Don Juan; we have a unique way of portraying him so his character is easily passed around. The show plays with the desire of the character to be free, as well as the performers’ desires to be bold and free as well. It really turns the story of Don Juan on its head and becomes more about the performers and each other as well as the audience,” director Leo Gene Peters informed me recently when we caught up prior to his first rehearsal here in Adelaide.
With so many adaptations of the story of Don Juan, what is it about his character that keeps drawing people to him as their source material?
“I think there is something about the boldness of the character. I got really interested in him when I was younger. There was something that drew me in to how he could be an absolute asshole and do whatever he wanted, but yet was still so likeable. As performers there is so much about his character that we can pull apart. There’s something great about his boldness and the ability to do anything, without the fear of consequence.”
For Don Juan, Leo has assembled a very strong cast, with some of them being from the original production back in 2015.
“The show was originally created in 2015, and four of the performers that are on the show now have been involved in the show since its beginnings. The show started as a workshop with people that I thought might be best suited for the concept for this production of Don Juan, and we played with the characters and it grew in an organic way from there. We had the basic format of the show to work from, but as we developed it over time, we adapted and changed it to what it is now. We are still adapting and changing things as we tour the show, depending on where we are and how it’s being received.”
Don Juan will be playing at the Space Theatre Friday June 10 at 6.30pm, Saturday June 11 at 9pm and Sunday June 12 at 8.30pm. Tickets through https://www.adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au/
Interview by Ben Stefanoff
More News
