Words: Elodie Marriott

4 stars

It’s 1950 and America are rooting out communists. Their goal? For the people of Mosinee, Wisconsin to experience “fear in a higher definition” and an educational presentation just won’t cut it. They need a spectacle. They need a full-scale communist invasion. Wearing suits and stern expressions, the trio retell the true story of a city-wide performance and the men (we’re told to imagine them white and middle-aged) who staged it. Through the reading of journal entries and dialogue from interviews, the audience are planted deep into their psyches and experience the gut-churning tension during internal power struggles.

The convincing performances and distinct characters draw us into the story, whilst the props and technological aspects expand it beyond the walls of the stage. The live video elements, currently trendy in theatre, were effective as they were used sparingly, adding scale to the show, rather than distracting us from it. Projecting the map and cut-out houses onto a television was a creative method of showcasing an otherwise impossibly large event. Aided by 50s music and the buzzing static of a radio, The Mosinee Project builds the atmosphere steadily as their scheming snowballs, wildly surpassing their initial plan. How communist are they willing to go to make America truly fear it?

The Mosinee Project
Underbelly Cowgate, Big Belly
15:30
Aug 2-11, 13-18, 20-25,