Eddie Perfect’s new Vivid White musical takes aim at Australia’s property obsession

EDDIE Perfect – the Australian creative force behind the hit stage shows Shane Warne the Musical and the Broadway smash Beetlejuice – has chosen Bangalow Theatre Company to redevelop his acclaimed musical Vivid White.

The Tony Award nominee, who also starred in the TV series Offspring, approached the community theatre company to create a new version of Vivid White, which originally premiered at Melbourne Theatre Company in 2017.

Co-producer Joel Cooper said it was an incredible honour for the company, which is known for staging productions that capture what audiences are thinking and feeling right now.

He said a small group of cast and crew worked closely with Perfect to rework the score, music, characters and script, developing a new and fully realised version of the show.

“After the workshop, we were then engaged to perform the first and stage the premiere season of the show, led by our incredible director Anouska Gammon,” he said.

“What makes this production so unique and exciting is that no one has seen this version of Vivid White before. Even if audiences saw the original iteration of the work at MTC, this version has new songs, new characters and a whole new creative vision.”

Named after a Dulux paint colour, the show follows two lifelong friends who fall in love with the same property in pursuit of the “Great Australian dream” and find themselves pitted against each other at auction. It offers a satirical take on how the pursuit of success and status can eclipse friendship and personal values.

 

“In the show, one of the friends wins the property at auction and renovates it, painting over its heritage and charm in stark white,” Cooper said. “It’s a clever metaphor that runs throughout the musical about erasure, reinvention, status and the pursuit of a particular aesthetic ideal, all wrapped in satire.”

Cooper, who also plays one of the lead roles, said he loves the show’s sharp wit.

“It is contemporary, bold and appeals even to people who might not usually consider themselves musical theatre fans,” he said. “The characters are so relatable, and Eddie finds the perfect balance of pushing ideas to the extreme, whilst making them painfully relatable.

“The themes feel incredibly current. It explores the real estate market, status, cultural hierarchy and the idea of belonging within a community. Through satire and comedy, Eddie holds up a mirror to the audience in a such profound way. People will leave laughing but also reflecting on where they stand on issues around wealth, community and what truly matters.”

Bangalow Theatre Company has built a strong reputation in recent years, receiving Production of the Year at the Gold Palm Theatre Awards for Into the Woods in 2025, Speaking in Tongues in 2024 and Perfect’s The Beast in 2023.

“We’ve been recognised for presenting work in new ways and in unexpected spaces, often capturing exactly what audiences are thinking and feeling at a particular moment in time,” Cooper said. “Vivid White aligns perfectly with that vision.”

The production marks the company’s first show at Brunswick Picture House in Brunswick Heads, with Vivid White running from 19 to 28 March.

For tickets, visit brunswickpicturehouse.com