MissXL calls on her prestidigitatorial and pantomimic powers to expose a mother’s fears.
“Ushered from the foyer to the expansive tree-lined forecourt of the Seymour Centre, Long transports us back to childhood summers of long hot days and still nights, when the jangle of a Mr Whippy van would draw the neighbourhood kids like flies. We gather in line to grab our sweet treat and lick and suck and bite on our choc tops as a drama begins to unfold. A sense of unease – and suddenly we find ourselves in the middle of a mother’s worst nightmare; a lost child, a bogeyman on the loose and a panic that escalates. Donning the beard of a pantomime villain, Long cavorts around the space, a maniacal gleam in her eye, limbs moving in time, creating a sense of hidden menace. The once familiar shadows of the trees take on a more haunted feel and the audience is flipped on a dime as they trail around the space after this bearded fanatic. The dance changes, Mrs Whippy reappears and the search is once again on – urgency and pain, fear and loss are given full play by Long’s expressive features and movement. A video break reminds us of the terrors of stranger danger – where all good children can end up locked in a cage as food… The child is never found and Mrs Whippy returns to her van, smile pasted in place…” (Cec Busby, Revolver)
| Concept/choreography/performance | Julie-Anne Long |
| Dramaturgy/Song Lyrics | Virginia Baxter |
| Original Music | Sarah de Jong |
| Lighting/Prodution | Janine Peacock |
| Video | Samuel James |
| Audience Management | Victoria Spence |
| Mr Whippy | Guiseppe & the Roma Expresso Gelato van |
| Producer | One Extra Dance |
| Video Excerpt | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang starring Sir Robert Helpmann as the child catcher |