Man of the Year

5 Pound Theatre Man of the YearOnce in awhile the right person stands in the right place at the right time and delivers a speech that changes the course of history. 5Pound Theatre presents the premiere of Man of the Year – a new one man show at the 2016 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

A look at human nature, and our propensity for violence, Man of the Year is a snapshot of some of history’s great speeches, and some of the world’s best speakers. What soon becomes clear is that all these great moments in time are intractably linked to mankind’s long violent struggle. A perpetual cycle that every now and again spins out of control. It’s not a question of will it happen again, but rather when? It could be next week, next year, or ten years from now. It could be tonight…

Man of the Year starts as a curatorial look at some of the world-changing speeches throughout history. Martin Luther King had a dream, Adolf Hitler insisted It is not truth that matters, but victory, Winston Churchill vowed to fight them on the beaches, Julia Gillard will not take lessons in misogyny from that man, and Stan Grant says we are better than this.

But all the while a clock is ticking on the wall and there is something lurking beneath the surface. A bead of sweat falls across the speaker’s brow as he looks around the room. Who is he? What are his true intentions? How will this end?

Directed by Tim Wotherspoon, Man of the Year features 5Pound Theatre’s Artistic Director Jason Cavanagh, who after having been in over 40 different productions in his 18 years of treading the boards, embarks on a new frontier – his first one man show.

“I’m not entirely sure what is going to happen on that stage. At times it’s like the material is creating me instead of the other way around,” said Cavanagh. “It is thrilling, scary and a little bit crazy, but then that’s what we’re going for.”

With this show we are exploring the idea of influence. Our relationship with violence and the lengths people go to to change the world. The things we do… for better or worse.

Man of the Year
Fringe Hub – Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol Street, North Melbourne
Season: 16 – 23 September 2016
Information and Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au