BETTY, BOOFF & JOAN

Where tea is poured, biscuits are judged, and the past refuses to behave.

BETTY, BOOFF & JOAN is a sharp, tender, and delightfully absurd celebration of chosen family: the people we endure with, reminisce with, and fiercely debate the truth with. Performed by Penny Everingham, Barbara Lowing and Clint Bolster, this intimate work unfolds as a triple bill of true, autobiographical stories.

Nothing invented.
Nothing fabricated. 
Though occasionally hotly contested.
 

Together, they form an eccentric odball family: a crusty grandmother, an aunt whose words sting like vinegar, and a nephew racing to keep up with their delightful mayhem. Within the embrace of a lounge room, where tea simmers, and biscuits are judged in silence, the ordinary is spun into the unforgettable. Every story is true. A swallowed goat tranquilliser. The festive wreath that claimed the life of Graham, the next-door neighbour’s award-winning Clydesdale horse. And one very smug cat...named Murray.

​

Through retelling, contradiction, and fierce affection, BETTY, BOOFF & JOAN explores how memory shifts with time, how survival becomes laughter, and how stories keep hope alive. Because, as they say; every family has a Betty, every family has a Booff, and every family, definitely... has a Joan.​

​​

★★★★★
"That’s the show’s magic trick. It creates the intimacy of a family gathering where everyone is regaling one another with “remember when” stories. The production understands that family stories are rarely tidy. They are disputed, embellished, misremembered, defended and performed over and over until they become part of the furniture."
Kitty Goodall - Stage Whispers