The Theatre Works Explosives Factory is an odd little venue tucked away in a laneway behind Inkerman Street in St Kilda. Walking into the venue, you are sent straight up a set of stairs that leads directly to a ticketing desk at the top. Through the doorway on the left, you are taken immediately into a modestly sized theatre space.
It’s an appropriately odd setting for The Deadmouse and Peabrain Dreams from theatre company Alright? and writer/ director/ performer Alana Louise. The Deadmouse and Peabrain Dreams is a family comedy drama where two sisters dream of escaping their rural country town by winning the X-Factor.
The show attempts to walk a very tricky tightrope between the dark and the silly, as the sisters attempt to grapple with the lack of prospects in their lives, all the while mutually emotionally abusing each other. While not without faults, this serves as a short and entertaining production with a decent bit of heart at its centre.
Opening with a sequence where sisters Shannon (Alana Louise) and Jodi (Sarah Palmieri) attempt to catch a mouse with the help of their father (Jason Schwab) before it is stomped by the neighbour Ronald (Joe Kenny). The sequence has the group moving through the space in slow motion, climbing on furniture and tossing brooms and nets between each other.
This is just a taste of what the rest of the show will have to offer, as Deadmouse regularly treats the audience with elaborate physical comedy and witty dialogue loaded with irreverent humour.
Shannon and Jodi are living out their young adult lives in the small town of Dumbfordton, working as funeral directors in their priest father’s church. After their mother left them for a man she met during a family holiday in Bali, Shannon and Jodi became determined to escape their hometown by winning the X-Factor.
Jodi struggles with the familiarity of a small country town, leading to memorable segments in the show where Kenny and Schwab rapidly switch between several of the townspeople of Dumbfordton interacting with Jodi. Shannon, on the other hand, has completely hitched herself to Shannon’s future success, serving as her songwriter and choreographer.
‘DMPD’ first began development while Alana Louise was studying at French theatre school École Phillipe Gaulier, which specialises in teaching clowning. The influence of Gaulier is very much apparent in the comedic stylings of the production as well as the character work done by the performers.
There is an undeniably strong chemistry between the cast members, despite the absurdity of the premise and the larger-than-life nature of the characters; they all interact with each other very naturally and believably.
Strangely, the character of Jodi seems much less heightened than the rest of the ensemble, regularly seeming significantly more down to earth than the other characters despite her position in the narrative.
Although moment-to-moment, the production consistently delivers both laughs and heartfelt character moments, it is the construction of the larger narrative where DMPD falters.
Certain aspects of the characters’ relationships seem underexplored, like the two sisters living in a religious household but not being devoted to religion themselves, or the mutual emotional abuse that the two sisters regularly inflict on one another.
Towards the end of the production, there is an unexpected dark shift in the story following the death of a character, and from there, the plot stumbles until the show reaches its conclusion.
The Deadmouse and Peabrain Dreams delivers laughs through its excellent use of character work and clowning techniques, but struggles to deliver a convincing narrative to tie itself together. Even still, if you are looking for a night of laughs and earnest character drama, be sure not to miss this one.
The Deadmouse and Peabrain Dreams runs to 21 February at Theatre Works Explosives Factory. Rear Laneway, 67 Inkerman Street St Kilda Vic 3004.
Tickets are available here.
Website: https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2026/the-deadmouse-and-peabrain-dreams
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/alright_comedy/
Photo credits: Nina Hopley
