Brisbane Festival star pees on stage at Brisbane Powerhouse

You don’t expect one of the stars of a show to pee on stage but with this Brisbane Festival headline show at Powerhouse, anything can and will happen, writes Phil Brown.

Oh come on, you’re urinating on the stage? That’s terrible isn’t it? An outrage! Shouldn’t be allowed. Got your attention? Well as it turns out it was entirely excusable because we are talking about a dog here. In a show full of dogs. Just lucky none of them pooped on stage in the Powerhouse Theatre last night at the Brisbane Powerhouse.

The question we asked on the way home is - was it part of the show or just a spontaneous wee wee?

I think the latter. But it was always going to be risky putting on a show about dogs that actually featured dogs.

Brisbane Festival’s Let's Be Friends Furever.

Congratulations to directors Daniel Evans and Amy Ingram of The Good Room for putting on a show that was so heart warming and heart rending at the same time. But curse you both too!

I’ve got a bone to pick with you - no pun intended. Okay a small pun intended.

But why did you have to make it so sad?

After all the fun and frivolity, meeting dogs and their owners and watching all those fun and at times moving videos of people declaring their love we were confronted with the fact that dogs, like people, die.

Mr Peanut and owner Sean, two of the stars of Let’s Be Friends Furever.

Watching people talk about losing their pups turned much of the audience into a blubbering mess. Which is a testament to how much we all love our dogs and how hard it is to bear the loss. Australian writer and actor Marieke Hardy’s testament was particularly moving and so sad but beautifully honest at the same time.

Then towards the end of the show we got back to having fun and the finale is gorgeous but I don’t want to spoil it for you. All I can say is that it is too cute!

Let's Be Friends Furever.

The show is very cleverly done with dogs and their owners coming on stage to be grilled by a voice from beyond - well-known Queensland actor Hugh Parker who also turns up on stage later. Then we get video testimony on the big screen between live appearances which includes some trick dogs and a very fine best in show style Afghan hound. The stage is cleverly fenced off to keep the dogs in and we’re talking about all sorts of dogs including a massive Great Dane called Sir Rollo who wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, god love him.

Meagan Babore with her uncontrollable dogs Brett and Steven.

And what a strong start with former special forces soldier Steve and his dog Guge. Steve, an Afghanistan veteran who’s in pretty good shape still, talked honestly and openly about his journey with his canine companion and it was a really moving and inspiring way to start the show.

Then we had a minor cavalcade of others doing the same and the dogs were pretty well behaved although Meagan Babore’s two hounds, Brett and Steven, seemed entirely out of control which made us all laugh. And then one of them (I can’t work out which but I think it was Steven?) lifted a leg and the house came down. Priceless.

Let's Be Friends Furever.

Was that a pee on command though? A cynical exercise in directorial manipulation? No, he just had to go and you know what they say - better out than in.

Dogs are part of our lives and they give so much love. And think about this … what is dog spelt backwards? Uh huh.

Let’s Be Friends Furever is on until Saturday at Brisbane Powerhouse

brisbanefestival.com.au