The Travelling

The Travelling is a chamber musical written by Australian writers Chris Kabay and Simon R Holt.
Based on Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci, the story centres around a family of travelling performers who have arrived to entertain the eager townsfolk in a fictitious Western Australian country town in the 1950s. When the performance becomes twisted with reality, the results are violently destructive.
The Travelling had a workshop production by yellow glass theatre at The Blue Room , Perth in September 2008 and after a major re-working, the musical will tour Wales and England in January 2010 with the Midnite Youth Theatre Company including performances at The Riverfront Theatre in Newport, Wales and Sadler's Wells in London under the new title In The Shadow Of A Gum Tree .
Characters
;The Family
*Nell - A pretty young girl
*Canno - Nell's father
*Tony - Nell's brother
*The Mother - The ghost of Nell and Tony's deceased mother
;The Locals
*Dotty - Head of the local Country Women's Association
*Neville - Dotty's son
*Trev - A Farmer
*Betty - Trev's wife
*Stretch - The owner of the town's pub
*Esme - Stretch's wife
*Bluey - The town drunk
*Chorus - The other members of the local community
*Sylvio - Nell's secret lover
Synopsis
During the "Prologue", the cast assembled pose the question "Could you tempted to peek behind a curtain closed?", considering what it performed onstage if a reflection of real life, both as comedy and tragedy.
The stage transforms into an Australian country town in the 1950's. A group of locals are anxiously awaiting a family of actors who are touring their district ("They're On Their Way"). The family (Nell - a pretty innocent girl, Tony - her polio-ridden brother, and Canno - her father), arrives to much fanfare ("Come Gather 'Round"), but after an unprovoked attack on one of the locals by Canno, the family are revealed to be falling apart beneath their mask. Nell is left on her own with "An Old Photograph", the only remnant of her mother. After a passionate cry of yearning for her mother, she appears in ghost-form where she pronounces "I Will Never Fade" if Nell keeps remembering her and living her life the way the mother could not.
Sylvio, her lover from another town who has hitch-hiked miles to be with her, arrives and reveals that he has come to save Nell from her situation. She is hesitant because she cannot leave Tony with her abusive father, but he persuades her to leave with him after the show that night ("Together We'll Leave"). However, Tony has secretly heard their conversation and when Sylvio leaves, confronts Nell ("Please Don't Leave Me"). When Nell explains she will return for him, he bursts into tears claiming he cannot remember their mother. Nell comforts him by singing their mother's lullaby ("As The Sun Disappears"). She also reveals the old photograph to Tony.
Canno enters, ordering Nell and Tony to go and get ready for the show. However, he spies the photograph in Tony's hand and demands he give it to him. Begrudgingly, Tony hands over the photograph of their mother. Canno is shocked to see this image of his dead wife and after his children leave, reveals the past about his wife and how she committed suicide ("Without Her"). Tony bravely comes back for the photograph, but after a tirade of abuse from his father, he is left with the torn remnants of the picture. Tony attacks Canno, but is over powered. He spitefully tells Canno that his mother would be glad she died ("I Bet She's Glad") and accidentally reveals that he will be all alone soon. Canno attacks Tony and forces a confession about Nell - she is leaving, and she is pregnant. Nell arrives and takes Tony away leaving Canno vowing vengeance on his daughter ("No Longer").
The Country Folk arrive at the pub and start to prepare themselves for the play ("Curtain Up!"), but Dotty interrupts them and gives them "A Bit of Housekeeping".
The play commences with Columbina (played by Nell) preparing for the arrival of her secret lover. Taddeo (played by Tony) arrives to again ask her to marry him. He is a disgusting old man who repulses Columbina, but eventually Columbina succumbs to giving him a kiss on the cheek. She leaves to continue getting ready when Pagliaccio (played by Canno) arrives. He is clearly drunk and demands to see his daughter. Reality then starts to blur with the performance, leaving the audience unsure what is happening. Canno slips out of character whilst Nell and Tony attempt to save the show. Canno reveals he knows about Nell's plan to run away ("No Longer - Reprise") and in his rage, pulls a curtain down to reveal Sylvio's dead body with a knife protruding from his chest. In blind fury, Nell grabs the knife from Sylvio's chest and plunges it into Canno. Tony crumbles to the floor as the action freezes. He starts to sing his mother's lullaby ("As The Sun Disappears - Reprise"), and her ghost appears encouraging him to move on and live past this moment, joined by the Ensemble. Tony then steps forward and asks the audience, having revealed the consequences of what is hidden, "Are you now tempted to peek behind the curtain?"
Musical numbers
As written for the "Midnite Version"
*Prologue
*They're On Their Way - Dotty, Neville, Trev, Betty, Stretch, Esme and the Country Folk
*So Gather 'Round - Nell, Tony and Canno
*Welcome To Our Town - Ensemble
*An Old Photograph - Nell
*I Will Never Fade - Nell and The Mother
*I Don't Know How To Write A Love Song - Sylvio
*Together We'll Leave - Sylvio and Nell
*Please Don't Leave Me - Tony and Nell
*As The Sun Disappears - Tony, Nell and The Mother
*Without Her - Canno
*I Bet She's Glad - Tony
*No Longer - Canno
*Curtain Up!- Esme, Stretch, Dotty and the Country Folk
*A Bit of Housekeeping - Dotty
*The Play - Nell & Tony
*No Longer (Reprise) - Canno
*As The Sun Disappears (Reprise) - Tony, The Mother and Ensemble
*Epilogue - Tony

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