After weeks of intensive rehearsals, Harvest Rain’s latest production is ready to hit the stage.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, opens this week.

Gabrielle Lyons reports.

TRANSCRIPT

Set in Ancient Rome and originally written in the 60s it’s a broadway musical that plays around with puns and vaudavile theatre.

Directed by Tim O’Connor and featuring performers from the Harvest Rain internship program, the story unfolds in a mess of madness.

Tim O’Connor, Director: ” I’m really excited to have an opportunity to work on it with this gang of crazy folk.”

The key characters are a servant and his master. It evolves around the doorways to three houses.

Richard Meyers, Actor: “His master’s son finds out he is in love with a courtesan , so Pseudolus tells lie upon lie upon lie to try get them together so he can become free.”

The costumes flood the stage with colour and excitement, and it is clear to see why the cast’s hard work is set to pay off.

Shaun McCallum, Actor: “They’ll love it, its just a lot of fun, there’s cross dressing, what’s not to love!”

The director has always wanted to stage a musical like this. A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum recently gained notoriety when Geoffrey Rush performed the lead role.

Tim O’Connor, Director: “The confusion that is created from this one particular slave called Pseudolus who is a big fat liar and he creates a whole series of lies that the three houses get mixed up in.”

Harvest Rain has been producing high calibre musical theatre for the past thirty years. The company has gained a reputation as being a launch pad for new acting talent.

Each year over 30,000 patrons come to the Mina Parade Warehouse theatre to see their productions.

The show opens next wednesday, September 25th. For a fun filled evening, drenched in colour and comedy, purchase your tickets through the Harvest Rain website.

Gabrielle Lyons, QUT News.