SO much of life is about timing and for writer, composer, musician and performer Casey Bennetto.<\/p>\n
In fact, timing is one of the most important aspects of his work.<\/p>\n
Bennetto is known for writing and composing the musical Keating! which in 2007 won the Helpmann Award for Best Musical and Best Original Score.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all came as a great surprise to me,\u201d Bennetto said. \u201cI wrote Keating! early in 2005 after reading Don Watson\u2019s book Recollections of a Bleeding Heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was so much material in Keating’s political life to work on, the rhythms of events, the colourful characters, the great turns of phrase, that it seemed a natural fit for a silly musical adaptation.”<\/p>\n
Yet Bennetto is reluctant to describe himself as a satirist.<\/p>\n
“I think to be a true satirist you have to be willing to get dark, to twist the knife,\u201d he said. \u201cSatire should be uncomfortable for the audience, it shouldn’t let them off the hook.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m drawn to the more joyful and ridiculous stuff, but I’ve got a great deal of respect for those who attempt to thread that needle, especially nowadays.”<\/p>\n
For Bennetto, the structures between music and comedy are similar.<\/p>\n
“They’re both essentially about tension and release,\u201d he said. \u201cAs often as not, a song verse brings us a kind of suspense, and the chorus delivers relief and joy, just as a joke setup is drawn towards the punchline.”<\/p>\n
As part of CresFest 2023 Casey Bennetto is taking part in the Court House Conversations series on 1 April.<\/p>\n
A new initiative for this year\u2019s festival Bennetto will be taking with local author Cate Kennedy.<\/p>\n
“What better time to talk about these things than April Fool’s Day?,\u201d he said. \u201cI’ll be there with bells on.\u201d<\/p>\n
For tickets and the full CresFest 2023 program visit cresfest.com.au.<\/p>\n