A New Workplace Comedy is debuting at Fringe Brisbane
Performers and call-centre veterans, Lauren Harvey and Kelly Hodge, will debut their witty new workplace comedy ‘Call Girls’ at Fringe Brisbane this October.
This new two-hander transports audiences to the front of the customer service queue for 60-minutes of outrageous fun. ‘Call Girls’ tells the story of Ella and Alexis, two twenty-something work wives hell-bent on having a good time (and, if they get the chance, hitting their KPIs).
Created in the context of the Great Resignation and a rapidly changing workplace environment, ‘Call Girls’ invites audiences to witness hilarious and absurd displays of human behaviour usually kept far beneath the veneer of polite society. It examines what happens when we keep putting our lives (and the calls) on hold.
Co-creator, Lauren Harvey, spoke about her experiences working in a call centre, and the crazy stories that came from it, which need to be shared.
“My co-writer Kelly and I were equal parts delighted and horrified by how similar our experiences have been in the call centre environment,” said Harvey.
“The stories taken from our real-life experiences are just too good not to share. Alternatively, we could just get on with our lives and do our jobs like normal human beings. But then, how would we leverage and capitalise on our winning wit and charm to catapult ourselves to fame and fortune?”
‘Call Girls’ will premiere at Fringe Brisbane from 15-30 October at Big Fork Theatre in Fortitude Valley.
Harvey is an actor and improv comedian, most recently seen in ‘Punk Rock’ at The Loft Theatre (Brisbane) and Big Fork’s ‘The Mixer’ and ‘Queer Show’. Hodge is an actor and award-winning writer (Be Still Media 2021), recently seen in the 2022 web series ‘The Dividing Line’ by JLAction Productions.
‘Call Girls’ will be their debut project, which draws on the collective’s half a decade of experience working in call centres.
Audiences can expect a high-energy, incisive and quick-witted show that pays homage to a lineage of great workplace comedies. With charismatic main characters inspired by ‘Fawlty Towers’ and ‘Peep Show’, ‘Call Girls’ lampoons the absurdity of rampant bureaucracy in the style of ABC’s ‘Utopia’ while packing plenty of laughs and heart.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Fringe Brisbane’s website.
Both Harvey and Hodge are no strangers to the stage, with Harvey performing as an improv comedian with The Improv Conspiracy and Big Fork Theatre, and Hodge is an award-winning writer.
Call Girls will not be phoning it in this Fringe Brisbane season. Join Alexis and Ella as they put everything on the line. No, the other one!
