Stories From the 428

Overview

Whenever I jump on a bus, I stroll down to the back seat, pull out my old lenseless sunnies, and become privy to a moving stage of 43 licensed-to-sit actors (doesn't everybody?). Where else can you follow the story of Odysseus the drunk, on his way back home, admire the two seat-crossed lovers and feel secure knowing the bus will never go above 50km/h?

Well, Stories from the 428 have gone one better. Over the past month, the show's writers have been gathering stories of their own, riding the 428 from Circular Quay to Canterbury, peering over your shoulder, reading your texts and listening in on your conversations, looking for the extraordinary in our ordinary rides. As a result, for two weeks over 50 actors will enact micro-dramas, monologues and even play the odd mp3 with humourous yet often sad effect from the lives that daily pass us by.

So head down to Marrickville's Sidetrack Theatre for a comfortable and motion sickness–free ride on public transport's noble steed. Better yet, the bus stops right outside the theatre door, and with a new program for each week of the run, there's no reason not to pick up a travel ten and climb aboard. At $25, you almost certainly won't have to give up your seat to a stinking hobo.

Image by Leah McGirr.