Andi Snelling has earned her reputation as one of Melbourne’s deeply enticing physical and character performers, and her return to the stage with ‘Happy-Go-Wrong’ is a long awaited devoted performance that addresses ailment and struggle that is both personable and relatable in one big theatrical hit.

Snelling is an amazingly talented and dedicated performer with an impressive theatrical range. There are moments of purely grounded slapstick, representations of resonating emotion and exhaustion, and the empathetic execution is wholeheartedly dynamic.  It’s light when it wants to be, dark where it needs to be, humourous by deliberate design, (especially in the internal realities of struggle portrayed by the recurring motif of a self-help answering machine), and ultimately raw, brave, and confronting in ways only a purely in tune performer can reach from within to successfully convey. Snelling is also blessed with an engaging face with expressions and command that have to be seen to be fully understood.

This is Snelling’s third collaboration with director Danielle Cresp, and this short season of debut performances is testing the grounds of what will be a successful full season to come. Unlike other ‘works in progress’, this was highly polished, and encapsulated on the very notion that creative minds can showcase extremely real struggles.

The use of soundscapes. The simple visual and audio effects of rolls of paper scrunching and capturing the artist in the throes of her pain, resilience, and restlessness. The execution of how the representations of the characters slowly dissolve into one another: all of these examples demonstrate distinctly how theatre professionals can work together to generate such powerful and believable content. Snelling has always deserved a prominent place in the entertainment industry, and her portrayal of her greatest plight shows that the fuel for exceptional performances can come from the strangest places.

This show will undoubtedly return with a full season, and with that, a solid and hearty recommendation for those who wish to experience something truthful and unique. Please go and experience it for yourself.

– Corey

Corey M. Glamuzina is a Melbourne-based actor, writer, improvisor, and comedian with an avid involvement in the art of theatre and film.

‘Happy-Go-Wrong’ ran from the 17th to the 19th of May at The Burrow, (as part of La Mama Explorations 2019).

Disclosure: The Plus Ones were invited guests of Andi Snelling.

Image Credit: Sarah Clarke.