Ross Balbuiente says that as a child of the 1980s he was a big fan of author Roald Dahl, whom he calls "the world's number one storyteller". Reading Dahl made him feel both ahead of his time and a little bit naughty. One of his favourite Dahl tales was the 1981 book George's Marvellous Medicine - "I read it over and over again" - so when the opportunity arose to direct it for the stage, "I jumped at the chance."
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In the story, eight-year-old George (played by Nick Skubij) must give his mean, smelly, nagging grandmother (Leon Cain) her dose of medicine at 11 o'clock each day.
"One day he wonders, what happens if I swap her medicine for a dose of a special mixture?"
While his parents are out, George goes around the family home collecting various substances from each room - motor oil and antifreeze from the garage, shampoo and deodorant from the bathroom, and so on - and mixes them all together.
"The production is quite visceral - we do see George pour every single ingredient into the mixture.
"When he gives the resulting concoction to his grandmother, something unexpected happens.
"She grows to epic proportions."
And complications, as they say, ensue.
Along with Nick Skubij and Nelle Lee, Balbuiente is co-artistic director of Queensland theatre company Shake & Stir. Their adaptation of George's Marvellous Medicine premiered in Brisbane in 2016 and had a New Zealand tour and is now having an Australian tour. They wanted to give the story something of the feeling of a live-action cartoon on stage. Last time Shake & Stir was in Canberra, Skubij played Dracula. This time, he's playing George.
"From the dark lord to an eight-year-old child!," he says.
"It's a fun tour - we've been on the road for some time now... but it's exhausting."
Playing a mischievous - and energetic - boy who's on stage pretty much the whole of the hour-long show is quite taxing for an adult, he says. The show moves fluidly from scene to scene to scene.
"There's no time even for a sip of water."
This is heightened by the fact that at every performance he is in front of up to 2000 hyped-up kids in the audience who are ready to go and brutally honest in their reactions.
"They do what they want to do."
There's often a Q&A; session after performances and the most frequently asked questions have to do with how the growing effect is achieved. Like Balbuiente, Skubij is cagey about this subject - "We can't give everything away" - but he will say the set design comes into play along with raising the actor, sound, lighting and making use of the other members of the cast (there are five in total).
And parents need not worry: as in the book, there is an explicit warning to children not to try making George's medicine at home.
George's Marvellous Medicine. Adapted by Shake & Stir Theatre Co. from the book by Roald Dahl. Directed by Ross Balbuziente. Shake & Stir Theatre Co. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. June 28 at 6.30pm and June 30 at 11am and 1pm. Tickets $25. canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.
