Review: Credulous

**Picture**: *Credulous* cast, *image credit Creative Futures Photography*

Promoted as a fantastical ‘new age’ tragi-comic ‘jazz musical,’ Credulous ‘explores themes of grief, family, and betrayal.’ And if that sounds just a little too serious, be reassured that this is a show with an emphasis on fun, fantasy, music, and dance—where the humour is a little quirky, the dance is Latino-styled, the fantasy has magical elements, and the music is jazz-influenced. Although there are also frequent references to death.

Most of the characters in Credulous have experienced significant loss; from the death of a much-loved cat through to parting with a partner or parent. For some, the path of grieving has led to acceptance, but others want to embark on a more dramatic route. Following the sudden death of her partner, Toby (Ethan Irvine), Aida (Maddie Martin) embarks on a magical journey to find whether she can have more time with the love of her life. And to check whether Toby had ever really loved her. All of which means Aida needs the help of the magical pothin, Venus (Isaac Ruthenberg), and of Venus’ two sidekicks (the Whispers, Ella Dickson and Tabitha Franklin), in order to travel to limbo—much against the advice of Aida’s mother, Lydia (Spooky).

For me, the star of the show is Isaac Ruthenberg: a great voice, strong stage presence, flamboyant dance moves, and a very complete portrayal of Venus as an otherworldly being who just wants their mum. I also really enjoyed Ella Dickson’s portrayal of the excellent Rosie (the cat lady with the entertainingly awful voice) and of the funny creation of the very scatty Whisper R. However, picking favorites is a dangerous game, as each of the six hardworking actors were well-cast. Spooky was great as Aida’s god-fearing and caring mother; Tabitha Franklin was a captivating Whisper C, and I really enjoyed Franklin’s Act 2 Cari number; and Ethan Irvine has a great voice and played the love interest role of Toby with pazazz. I enjoyed Maddie Martin’s portrayal of Aida, particularly during the duets with Irvine, but I felt that the script might have allowed us to spend a little more time exploring Aida’s grief and the more ‘credulous’ aspects of her character.

Created by Arina Dara, the 2025 version of Credulous is directed by Arina Dara and Ernest Corbert, and written by Phoebe Quinn, together with Jake Brown and Mak Harris (lyricists), and Alex Wilson and Max Berger (composers). Music and dance are key elements in this production, which means that it is good to have a live band (Max Berger [trumpet], Alex Wilson [I loved the piano moments], Tristan Hargreaves [drums], Kyle Neilan [double bass] and Eden Gray [sax]). Credulous also benefits from the excellent choreography of Jasmine Muir, where it is so good to see a musical where the choreography both adds to the experience and is at the skill-levels of each of the artists.

The staging worked well in the church hall, although I would have preferred a simplified set to allow for quicker scene changes; my favourite moments were often just under the ‘limbo’ cloud, which was probably the simplest of each of the settings (Hollie Pianta, designer and stage manager). The lighting and sound design were also good, but I feel that this intimate space would benefit from our hearing the voices without the use of head microphones (Caleb Bartlett, lighting & sound design). The costume choices were great (Amelia Smith, costume designer), although perhaps a larger budget might have allowed for the creation of costumes that were more aligned with the style of the fantastic promotional poster (Lisha Devenport, poster designer).

Verum Arts is still very much in its infancy. With a first show only in 2023, Verum Arts is a collective of Meanjin-based theatre artists that focuses on ‘perspective, authenticity, inclusivity’ when bringing new works to local audiences. Verum Arts may be relatively new, but I am impressed with the professional approach to the production—from the ‘merch’ through to the promotion and marketing (Nathan Chan, Producer and Production Manager, and Sam Watkins, Marketing). Having an idea and working hard to bring it the stage is often not enough, so congratulations to the 26 or more creatives and performers who contributed to further developing this show from the first 2023 version. I’m sure that the Verum Arts collective has a lot of ideas as to ‘what next’ but, if they continue to develop Credulous, I suggest now is the time for a dramaturg to join the team. Perhaps the opportunity to tighten up a little of the first act (less of the pre-tragedy moments with Toby?) and have more time for audiences to explore Aida’s grieving switch to being quite so ‘credulous’ and to believe in Toby’s final decisions. But perhaps the writer and creator might just have a book deal in hand, enabling them to bring this fantastical world to wider audience through a different medium?

Catherine Lawrence

**Picture**: Limbo education. *Image Credit: Creative Futures Photography*

Audience information: Credulous, Merthyr Road Uniting Church, 52 Merthyr Rd, New Farm (6 shows, across 14, 15, 21, 22 February 2024). Smoke haze and occasional flashing lights, with themes of death, magic and religion—13+ suggested. 150 minutes, including a 20-minute interval. Tickets $38-45, plus $1.09 booking fee.

The reviewer attended the 21 February 2025, 7pm performance.

Geoff Lawrence