In a tent, I was to see Allenby's Famous Flea Circus by Murphy's Puppets - the guys who gave me the travel grant to come to Perth. (This one's for you Nikole!) I lined up for twenty minutes, hoping to get into the 1.00pm showing - there was a line for ages, and no matter what time of day it was, there always seemed to be a line outside the tent. I missed the 1pm showing, so waited in line for another 20 min. for the next one. The show seemed extremely popular and the whole carnival day was full of families and kids.

Inside the tent, there were about 40 or 50 seats, and the tent was long, rather than wide. Up the front there was a small rostra stage, and basic lighting (front wash, white, maybe a little red thrown in). On the stage was a lectern-size table, with a box sitting on top. This was my first problem: quite clearly a flea circus is going to be small, so as to be realistic, but the size of the venue meant that my seat up the back was somewhat too far away. However, it wasn't too bad, just not the best situation.

Murphy, who is the sole performer, was dressed in a grey ringmaster's suit, and trimmed with sparkly red. Very appropriate, but in the hot and stuffy tent, I wonder how he survived! After the show, it was certainly clear that he was sweating.

Read the full review here:

http://puppetsinmelbourne.com.au/index.php/2008/04/06/live_from_unima_2008_day_six_murphy