Creator: Pony Cam Collective
Pony Cam Collective are based in Australia but have been touring their crazy, chaotic show Burnout Paradise around the world before bringing it to the Galway International Arts Festival, playing the Blackbox Theatre on this unusually warm Irish evening. The temperature is strangely relevant here in a way it would not normally be with respect to theatre because four of the five members of the collective spend most of the performance on treadmills in a race against time, running to survive…and complete administrative jobs, perform acts and spend leisure time. As an audience member, watching the actors carry out their physical exertions in the stifling heat, as sweat pours from their bodies, is exhausting in itself. However, Pony Cam never loses their focus and stays the course throughout a manic interactive sixty-five minutes. The show is split into four bursts of activity: preparing a meal for two audience members, completing tasks listed on a white board, submitting an Arts Council funding application and performing mini shows, all while running. Their progress is measured by the distance travelled and recorded on another white board. This is all explained by the fifth member of the collective, Ava Campbell, who offers the audience their money back should the team fail to beat their best time. She also supplies us with cold drinks throughout the show and points to merchandise available for sale (a first for this reviewer of theatre, as is the instruction to leave your phone on!).
The performance critiques life in the fast lane, highlighting the ridiculousness of the frenetic nature of existence today. In order to do that on stage they attempt to carry out mundane tasks while running as fast as they can. A lot of the humour in the piece comes from the physical contortions and risky moves required, for example when changing into costumes while keeping up speed on the treadmills or trying to stay safe when boiling water for pasta while running. The collective relies on audience participation to help them but the good news is that participation is solely on a volunteer basis and Pony Cam are well supplied with volunteers on this particular night in the Blackbox. The show is a lot of fun and makes a great point about our lives today as we juggle so many parts. Having so many activities happening in parallel on stage though does require a lot of attention and inevitably the audience cannot keep up with everything. The randomness and chaotic nature of the show is brave but seems to take a toll on the actors to some extent. Certainly the relentless pace provides constant entertainment and laughs. Performed on a very basic stage with handmade props but clever use of projection to crowd-share the arts funding application, Pony Cam’s Burnout Paradise is a unique and crazy adrenaline-fueled romp.
Runs Until 18th July 2026.
