From the liminal spaces of global migration to the vibrant stage of the Adelaide Fringe, Ben Voss trades Durban’s complex social landscape for South Australia’s egalitarian spirit, transforming his immigration journey into a compelling theatrical narrative that celebrates resilience, humor, and hope.
How’s it, indeed! Episode 411 of The Adelaide Show takes us on a remarkable journey with Ben Voss, a South African performer who’s recently landed in Adelaide, bringing with him a treasure trove of stories, a global talent visa, and a one-man show that dissects the intricate process of finding a new home.
We also keep the international feel going with an exclusive interview with Bettina Bitchkinky, who will be in Adelaide this month to host Club Eurovision. She is a major star in Belarus and she’s teaming up with Glynn Nicholas and dozens of glittering performers to create one crazy night at the Arkaba Hotel.
For the SA Drink Of The Week, we are imbibing our beverage through the medium of Barossa Valley Gourmet Fudge.
And in the Musical Pilgrimage, we’re dipping back into the archives of Fergus Maximus and Dr D with another track about South Australia from their Fringe show, Back in ADL.
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Running Sheet: From South Africa And Belarus With Love This Adelaide Fringe
00:00:00 Intro
Introduction
00:02:25 SA Drink Of The Week
The South Australian Drink Of The Week this week is actually a fudge with port by Barossa Valley Gourmet Fudge.
Steve met Julie at a workshop he was running through the week for Regional Development Australia (RDA) Barossa Gawler Light Adelaide Plains (BGLAP). You’ll find her wares at the Barossa Farmers Market. She makes her fudge by hand in the Barossa Valley using local fresh cream, fresh Australian butter, and basically everything that is wholesome (in that special way that fudge does it).
In a delightful twist, Steve Davis and Ben Voss eschew traditional liquid libations for a tasting of Barossa Valley Gourmet Fudge. They sample two decadent varieties: Port and Roasted Almond Truffles and Dark Chocolate Port and Raisin Fudge. The duo engages in a playful, descriptive tasting that transforms the fudge into a sensory journey, complete with metaphors ranging from “grandma’s feather bed” to “an air safety bag for your palate”.
00:10:20 Ben Voss
Ben Voss opens up about his theatrical migration from South Africa to Australia, sharing the profound personal and artistic motivations behind his one-man show “Becoming Benno”. He candidly discusses the pivotal moment during the Durban riots that sparked his family’s decision to seek a new life, painting a nuanced picture of leaving one’s homeland not out of desperation, but with hope and intentionality.
The conversation explores Ben’s artistic reinvention, from being a established performer in South Africa to becoming an eager newcomer in Australia. He reflects on the humbling yet invigorating experience of rebuilding his artistic identity, emphasising his belief that quality work will ultimately speak for itself.
Particularly compelling are Ben’s observations about South Africa and Australia, comparing their social dynamics, discussing the complexities of cultural representation in comedy, and celebrating the egalitarian spirit he sees in his new home.
Becoming Benno at the Woodville Town Hall and The Warehouse Theatre in Unley.
00:47:20 Bettina Bitchkinky, Club Eurovision
In a riotous segment, Bettina Bitchkinsy, the “glittering jewel of Belarus Broadcasting,” brings her larger-than-life persona to the show. Hosting Club Eurovision at the Adelaide Fringe, she offers a hilariously unfiltered perspective on European culture, performance, and audience participation. Her advice is as bold as her personality: come prepared to wave flags, use “clackers,” potentially drink vodka, and absolutely not be shy.
Bettina describes Eurovision as a “cosmic salad” of European identity, complete with feta cheese and “nuts” (both literal and metaphorical). She promises an interactive show where audience members get to vote live, emphasizing it’s “not like the Trump election” but a truly democratic experience. Her tips for attending include bringing 23 friends (for some mysteriously precise statistical reason), being ready to make noise, and potentially spending $10 for her coveted autograph.
Get tickets for the March 19, 2025, glittering spectacular, here: Club Eurovision.
01:02:05 Musical Pilgrimage
In the Musical Pilgrimage, we feature Cross Out The King by Fergus Maximus and Doctor D. (You can hear a full show with this duo in Episode 387).
They have a Fringe show again this year, with tickets here: Back in ADL (more Sweet Home Songs).
The episode concludes with a musical tribute by Fergus Maximus and Dr. D, featuring their song “Cross Out The King” – a playful exploration of Adelaide’s street-naming quirks. The track delves into the local myth that one cannot cross King William Street, revealing the humorous backstory of how Adelaide’s founding fathers managed their street-naming ambitions.
Here’s this week’s preview video
In this video, Steve teaches Ben some fair dinkum South Australian sayings so he will fit right into SA.
SFX: Throughout the podcast we use free SFX from freesfx.co.uk for the harp, the visa stamp, the silent movie music, the stylus, the radio signal SFX, the wine pouring and cork pulling SFX, and the swooshes around Siri.
An AI generated transcript – there will be errors. Check quotes against the actual audio (if you would like to volunteer as an editor, let Steve know)
411-TAS transcript
[00:00:00] How’s it, Steve Davis here. Welcome to episode 411 of the Adelaide Show. What did I just say? Well, we’re about to find out more about that, um, because in this episode we have one of South Australia’s newest residents and he’s taken immediately to the Adelaide Fringe stage. His name is Ben Voss and he’s basically swapped living in one essay for another one.
[00:00:23] Um, would also keep the International Fuel going with an exclusive interview with Betina Kinky, who will be in Adelaide this month to host Club Eurovision. Now she’s a major star in Belarus and she’s teaming up with Glen Nicholas and dozens of glittering performers to create one crazy night at the Arch Kaaba Hotel for the essay drink of the week.
[00:00:44] Well, we’re actually imbibing our beverage a little differently this time. It’s through the medium of Barasa Valley Gourmet Fudge and in the musical pilgrimage. We will dip back into the archives of Fergus Maximus and Dr. D with another track about South Australia, which will be featuring in their fringe show called Back in a DL, all that, and a lot more surprises and even some South Africanisms in this
[00:01:10] Steve: episode of the Adelaide Show.
[00:02:27] I like mixing things
[00:02:29] up when it comes to the South Australian drink of the week, and I’m gonna do it in two ways. First of all, um, our guest who will meet more formally in the moment, is going to join me, Ben Voss. Ben, welcome to Adelaide Show. Thank you. Thanks for having me, Steve. Actually, welcome to Adelaide.
[00:02:42] Ben: Yeah, literally last night I landed, yes. 20 hours of jet lag.
[00:02:47] Oh, beautiful. Mm. That’d be a great title for a next production. Yeah, I do it, wouldn’t it? And you just sleep on stage. How good is that? And you invite audience members to come and sleep as well. Wow. The Adelaide Festival that that’s pretty easy actually.
[00:03:03] Yeah, that’s not, I actually
[00:03:04] Ben: don’t charge people to come to my shows. I pay them to leave. That’s exactly, get up, get up. It’s 500, $500 if you leave in the first 10 minutes and then like it gets less as time goes on.
[00:03:16] Yeah. So you can get home early. Watch the Simpsons or something. Um, so look, that was the first reason this is gonna be different.
[00:03:22] The second thing is that there’s the essay drink of the week, but we don’t have drinks. It’s a little bit early. I mean, we’ve got some espresso here. We
[00:03:28] Ben: do have a nice espresso. Yes. Made in Steve’s uh, yes. Kitchen. I guess something that you’ve got lurking back there.
[00:03:35] Yes, it’s my own blend.
[00:03:36] Ben: Is it?
[00:03:37] Yes. Um, what we, it’s delicious.
[00:03:38] What we’re doing is we’re going to drink some South Australian port, but we’re imbibing it in the form of some fudge from Barossa Valley Gourmet Fudge. I met Julie through the week in the Barossa Valley. I was running one of my smartphone photography and videography workshops and she was an absolute scream.
[00:03:55] And you know what she did that the other business owners didn’t do tell me she left samples. And when you leave samples with me, they often end up on the Adelaide Show. So let that be a lesson to everyone and
[00:04:06] Ben: your tummy and on the Adelaide show.
[00:04:08] Exactly. So, um, I thought together we will do a quick light informal tasting of these and just see.
[00:04:15] How they strike us. Lovely. Alright, so I’m going to go all out now. You’ll often find Julie’s wares at the Barossa Farmer’s Market, uh, because it’s local cream, local barter, all those sorts of things.
[00:04:29] Ben: Okay,
[00:04:30] so I’m gonna open up, actually you choose, you’re the guest. Which one should we try first? We’ve got the, alright.
[00:04:34] What are the titles? We have the Port and Roasted Almond Truffles. Mm, sounds good. And we have the dark chocolate port and raisin fudge. Let’s start with the raisins.
[00:04:44] Ben: Actually no, let’s start with the almonds. ’cause the raisins might be slightly sweeter or they might be, I even though they’re both chocolate.
[00:04:50] I love your
[00:04:50] optimism. Alright, so I’m gonna open up the, see I’ve got a beautiful South Australian made knife, but I won’t need it for the truffles because we can just plunk one in our mouth if I can open the packaging. Here we go. I’ve already taken photos of these, by the way. Now let me just,
[00:05:07] Ben: this is the first thing I’m eating this morning,
[00:05:09] actually.
[00:05:10] Oh, yes. Okay.
[00:05:11] Ben: Chocolate in the morning is good.
[00:05:13] We’ll see how we go. We might leave one for my wife, but, uh, who knows, maybe she won’t listen to this and she won’t realize. There were four. So let’s go with the port and roasted almond truffles. Now, normally, um, just before we start, Ben, we normally toast our late patron Queen Adelaide.
[00:05:29] Um, so let’s do that with these To the queen. To the queen. Alright, here we go. Do you reckon the whole thing in your mouth at once? Are you gonna go
[00:05:37] Ben: one? Not only, it’s about the size of a sort of mini meatball. Would you say? Like those ones you get at, um, Ikea? Oh, yes, yes. That’s about that. That’s very
[00:05:43] international.
[00:05:45] The international pricing standard is the price of a McDonald’s Big Mac around the world. And maybe the sizing is the Ikea meatball size. The IKEA meatball. Yeah. Let’s go all in. All right. Okay. Oh, that texture isn’t what I was expecting. It really sunk, uh, quite deeply. Like I’m jumping on Grandma’s feather bed.
[00:06:06] Mm. And just not with her in it. Um, and I was expecting more resistance. Mm-hmm. Not from grandma I’m talking about, but not, Hmm.
[00:06:16] Ben: Not sort of, um. Truffly. Not that, um, no, not no caramel. You, um, it’s very, it’s not that sweet either.
[00:06:24] No.
[00:06:25] Ben: It’s beautifully slight tartness. Mm-hmm. Which is actually really nice.
[00:06:29] And the almond, I was expecting a whopping big almond in there.
[00:06:33] She’s splintered the almonds. Yes. There’s little pieces throughout. Excuse us talking with our mouthful. We normally just talk with, you know, our mouthful of wine, which is a little bit easier. Um, and, um,
[00:06:45] Ben: not a thick sort of, not a thick shell that cracks No. A sort of integrated feel. Hmm. Where the surface and the interior have a similar texture and feel.
[00:06:54] Correct. It’s like an air safety bag for your pallet, you know? It is, it’s a big balloon thing. And the moment you’ve had the impact, it just, it can, it will collapse. It ate,
[00:07:03] Ben: yes. Hmm.
[00:07:04] Very nice. That is nice.
[00:07:06] Ben: Yeah, it is nice actually. It’s really nice.
[00:07:07] I, I, I was expecting a shower of sugar and that’s not there.
[00:07:13] No,
[00:07:13] Ben: it’s not there. In fact, you could easily ease another one quite quickly. Oh, that was, I think that was an obvious hint, wasn’t it? Your wife might pin danger here, I’m afraid. I think she is, but
[00:07:22] we’ll save that. We’ll have the, I think we’ll have it before we go. Um, but not now. First of all, we’re gonna turn our attention.
[00:07:28] Well done, Judy, by the way, to the dark chocolate port and raisin fudge, both
[00:07:34] Ben: done by Judy.
[00:07:35] Am I right? Yes. Made by hand. Now what size would we say this is? That’s brownie size. A sort of block of brownie. It’s a centimeter and a half thick. Uh, and it’s probably what about five centimeters by seven. Will you excuse fingers as I No, go ahead.
[00:07:53] Alright, now, should we just cut this in half? I think let’s probably do the trick. I, I’m gonna cut it roughly in half. I’ll do the good parent thing. I’m cutting it in half and then I’m choosing you choose which half you like
[00:08:06] Ben: and then I’ll cry in response to, you can cry in response to me taking the big one.
[00:08:10] Oh, you did too. And of course. Wow. Oh, you can blame the jet lag. Alright, so this is different. It’s got a little white swirl across the top. I, I don’t think we’ll put this all in our mouth at once. I think we’ll just try a mouthful. Alright. We’ll be dignified. Let’s go. All I can see a couple of raisins on the edge.
[00:08:26] Ben: Yeah. Raisin. My wife’s a big fan of Raisin chalks. Is she? Mm. Loves it. Won’t go peanuts won’t go shortbread.
[00:08:33] No. Let me just say from the arts app. You are very wise, ma. Mm-hmm. You definitely wanted to come with this. One second, because this is sweeter. Mm. It is. Um, it’s like all the cars at the drive-in theater just put their headlights on at once and their, their, the screen is just, it just hit my, my tongue.
[00:08:57] Just li it’s Do you plan these lines? No, it just hit me. Um, that’s beautiful. Now obviously it’s sweet, but I don’t, I I’m not against sweet. Well, you need sweet. Mm.
[00:09:07] Ben: Especially with a little bit of coffee. It’s actually, that could be quite nice little coffee chaser.
[00:09:11] Yes. Yeah. Um, so. Oh, beautiful. Soft texture.
[00:09:14] Again, I was expecting resistance, like fudgy resistance, but it’s a soft pillow. I’ve now moved up grandma’s feather bed to the pillow. Mm-hmm. Um, and it just sinks. This is Julie. I did see on her Facebook page as a link to her Facebook page in the show notes. Um, she often sells out when she goes to the Barossa farmer’s market now.
[00:09:34] No way.
[00:09:35] Ben: Yeah. Understandable. No, it’s delicious. That’s beautiful. And it is lovely. And it’s actually getting better as you have a little more.
[00:09:41] Yeah.
[00:09:41] Ben: Well, we can
[00:09:41] keep grazing on that throughout the interview. Um, all that’s left for me to say oddly is the Barossa Valley Gourmet Fudge, dark chocolate port and Raisin Fudge and Port and Roasted almond Truffles are the South Australian drinks, so to speak
[00:09:58] Steve: of the week.
[00:10:25] I’m sitting here
[00:10:25] with Ben Voss in the Adelaide Show Studios just months after he first landed, and just hours after he’s come back a second time to Adelaide with his global talent Visa and his family in tow. Now, Ben’s not only putting down roots in this wonderful state, but he’s bringing his one man show becoming Benno to the Adelaide Fringe.
[00:10:47] It’s a tale of. Transition and of that liminal space between leaving one home and finding another, and perhaps a story. Many South Australians with migration in their blood, will recognize in their own family histories. Um, Ben, welcome formally to the Adelaide Show podcast. Thank you, Steve.
[00:11:05] Ben: Thank you for having me.
[00:11:06] Hmm.
[00:11:06] And we should undo the, the, uh, the beginning of the show. I said, how is, what was that saying? How’s it, how’s it? Mm. Alright. So just how is it? But how is it? Or is it, has it, it’s like goodday. It’s like Goodday. It’s the same but South African. Alright. Okay. I’d say if I went to South Africa and I went, how is it they’d think, oh, he’s a local.
[00:11:24] He’s a local.
[00:11:24] Ben: A hundred percent, yes.
[00:11:26] Okay. Um, watch the video that we’re gonna do at the end and we’ll see if I can match Ben’s authentic, helping me to be a local. Uh, with mine, uh, in reverse. But Ben, let’s get to your show Becoming Benno. It opens with you detained at Sydney Airport while your family waits at arrivals.
[00:11:44] Was there actually a moment in your actual immigration journey when you thought, you know what, I need to put this on stage? Or did the theatrical possibilities only sort of dawn on you later in the process?
[00:11:59] Ben: No, it started very early. When I, when I was considering immigrating to Australia was the first thing I thought.
[00:12:04] I don’t want to arrive in Australia and feel like I am outside of the, the system immediately. I’d love to be part of it from the get go. So, when we started applying, which is a long process, a three year process.
[00:12:17] Oh wow.
[00:12:17] Ben: Yeah. It can take, it can take longer. Um, uh, I, I just thought I need something that’s gonna segue me that I can learn about Australia prior to coming.
[00:12:28] So it gave me a, even just in my head, it allowed me to be present here without. Without being present. So I wrote the show from South Africa, researching while I was doing it. Came here once or twice and then, and then made it part of me so that I can be part of Australia. Really? Wow. ’cause yeah, it was, it’s, it’s the show that has journeyed me here.
[00:12:49] It’s like the next level beyond the Stanislavsky method, isn’t it? Yeah.
[00:12:53] Ben: It’s, it really is. Living the, living the content. Um, I have never been detained formally for an hour in interrogation room, just for the record, in case they’re thinking of revoking my visa immediately. Um, but uh, it, it the sort of, I thought that no man’s land space, yeah.
[00:13:10] Between two lives. Uh, and a very sort of restricted, quite scary is the, is your future gonna be guaranteed? Is this three year wait gonna be worth it? Is all the, uh, or are all the aspirations that one puts as someone coming to a incredible country like Australia? Let’s be fair. Um. Are they gonna be dashed in a single moment because, uh, you know, a security official had a bad day or Yeah.
[00:13:36] You know, didn’t get his share of his wife’s truffle chocolates from, from the morning and decided that wow, that’s the second thing. Take it out on you.
[00:13:45] That, that’s interesting. And, and that little no man’s land moment is really in a microdose. I lived in Hungary for a while and Alexis, one of our longest listeners.
[00:13:52] There you go. Have another drink. ’cause I mentioned it again. Um, when you used to cross the, the border in the train. This is the nineties. Not no real smartphones or anything, you are in limbo. You are in control of whether that border guard is having a good day or a bad day, and, but this is a prolonged thing, so that’s really intense.
[00:14:11] Ben: Yes, yes it is.
[00:14:13] Now you’ve had more than 1500 performances of your sketch comedy series in South Africa. You’ve got your star on the theater Walk of fame there. What’s it like leaving that established identity behind and essentially becoming an artistic newcomer?
[00:14:30] Ben: Such a great question. And you know what?
[00:14:32] I’m actually loving it because I’m feeling, I’m 51 years old, right? I’m I, I have done the theater scene and the TV and the movie scene in South Africa to some extent, and it’s just. Incredibly humbling. Firstly, which I’m enjoying. Uh, I am, it’s reinvigorating because I’m starting to think differently again.
[00:14:55] You know, I’m not on the treadmill. I’m not, I don’t have a reliable audience. I don’t have a reliable set of followers. Um, I don’t know the theaters, I don’t know the venues. I dunno, the venue managers, the tour managers. So I’m, I’ve just taken a leap of faith. Mm-hmm. Um, and in a way I see that, you know, Australia took a leap of faith in me in granting me a global talent visa.
[00:15:17] And my instincts are that it’s gonna support me if I put everything forward that I can. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so that’s the idea, really. It’s nice. So it’s scary. Scary. It’s fantastic. It’s nice. You’ve,
[00:15:28] you’ve bumped into Anna Thomas at Woodfield Town Hall.
[00:15:30] Ben: Yes, yes. I bumped into her. She’s sort of, she gave me your details actually.
[00:15:35] Yeah, I know. I’ve been meaning to follow
[00:15:36] up about that. Yeah.
[00:15:37] Ben: Which is wonderful. Uh, and Adelaide have been incredibly receptive, just on a human level, I have to say. Like very warm, very open, very accepting. It’s been great so far.
[00:15:48] Just when you, as you built your career, social media, uh, appeared midway or towards the end of that, that growth.
[00:15:59] And in the early days it was so easy. In social media, you make a little noise, you were everywhere. Now it’s crowded and crammed at a time when you have to start again from zero. If I was in your shoes, knowing what I know about social media, that would add an extra level of daunting ness, if I can make up a word to it.
[00:16:21] Yes.
[00:16:22] Ben: I dunno if this is the right approach, but I’ve decided to. I’ve decided to go back to the idea that the, the work will do will tell my story. Like I don’t need, I mean, I will do what I can. I’ve got someone who’s helping me with publicity. I will do what I can mm-hmm. On social media. But I want this show to be seminal and beautiful and funny, and.
[00:16:46] Precise. And I feel like if I can get 10 people to watch it on the first night, and it’s good enough, I can get 20 the next, I can get 50 the next, and then the sky is the limit. I, I’m, and that’s what I started with. You talk about starting again, you know, when I was, when you, when you success doesn’t come from throwing something, you know, at your screen, it really comes from that foundation.
[00:17:07] And it’s lovely to go back. Like I would walk into place in South Africa and go, why, why, why am, why, why haven’t got 150 people here tonight? I should, I should have 300. Like, what’s going on? And that’s not my Headspace anymore, you know? No, I’m like, I, I just want the work to speak for itself. That’s all I’ve got is the work.
[00:17:22] I don’t have the following. I don’t have the name, I don’t have the, so, and I believe in the work again, which is just, yeah. Wonderful.
[00:17:30] I think that’s the difference, isn’t it? Mm-hmm. Uh, because marketing’s my day job and I was with some people last night and they were talking about some events they were planning and I just couldn’t get it.
[00:17:39] I couldn’t, I don’t think. It was very patchwork. And I said, if I’m gonna help sell this, I need to believe it in my bones that, that there is something here. And I understand the hook and what is, what is in for people. Mm. And I think you are saying a very similar thing. Exactly. Yeah. You
[00:17:55] Ben: do need the fundamentals.
[00:17:56] Yeah. And that’s what I’ve got at the moment, not the rest of it.
[00:18:01] No. And just looking at the catalyst, I mean the rights and Durban three years ago became what you’ve called the final straw in your decision to leave South Africa. Can you just take us through that moment when you and your wife, you know, would’ve looked at each other and thought it’s time to leave?
[00:18:21] Ben: Yes. So that was a turning point moment, but just to preface that. Uh, for many years I’ve thought about Australia as a destination for me and my family. Um, but what happened in, in Durban, my hometown, and, uh, if you don’t mind me taking some time, your listeners will, might be interested in this. Um, we had riots in, in Durban where essentially one part of our, our government was at, at odds with the other.
[00:18:51] But in the province I was in, um, the, the sort of head. Politician there had more influence in that pro province. And as a result, the national, the national government sort of stepped back and refused to step in. And what happened was these riots spiraled into what were just sort of localized political rights into a massive, uh, looting free for all poverty of, of really those who don’t have against those who have.
[00:19:20] And was
[00:19:20] that on racial lines or is it more Not quite as simple as that?
[00:19:24] Ben: It’s not quite as simple as that. I mean, when people look at it, you know, from the helicopters, yes, you can say it’s on racial lines and that would be the, the layman’s interpretation. But actually it was on what I realized were, you know, um, those who have, and those, those who don’t, and just so many unemployed people sitting in their ha in their shacks in the middle of nowhere with no access to water, electricity, food opportunity, just decided there’s a little bandwagon going here.
[00:19:51] And it was the turning point at which the state. Just could not hold at all. And true anarchy ensued. So it was terrifying in my hometown. You know, and look, don’t get it wrong, this Durban has these beautiful suburbs. It’s got beautiful places. Uh, the people are wonderful. The but that incident sort of secured for me that this is a society that in a way, the.
[00:20:19] Because so few benefit and so many don’t. It was more that it was, yes, we were scared. We had to be, I I was given, given a, you know, everyone said, bring your guns to the gate. We live on a, we lived on a golfer state. We are very fortunate. And, um, they said, bring your guns to the gate. We are gonna protect ourselves.
[00:20:37] We had rosters for the men, 300 of us. We had a guy who’s in charge of a security company in South Africa who was responsible for the, um, the, the, the time sheets of when we patrolled the gates. I would go with my little golf club and other guys would come with their, sort of, their guns. And I’d go, all right, well, where do you want me guys?
[00:20:54] I say, Benny, just stand back. Okay? Just, just, just stand there with your golf club. Go and practice your putting and we’ll take care of, um, I mean, wow. And then at one point, so you ask about the turning point. We were on, on the, on the, uh, in the middle, just taking a walk. My wife and I with our daughter who’s 13, she was about 10 at the time, and she, and there was a phone call, ev all ev all men come to the gate.
[00:21:18] Uh, bring whatever you can. They’re coming up from the south. Um, um, uh, and we went to protect our estate essentially. Um, people were barricading the roads all around their houses. And I ran into the house and I said, Lisa, to my wife, I just think we need to pack a bag. And I don’t quite know what that means.
[00:21:38] Like, so we went to the safe, we got whatever cash we had, we got like our passports, and we just packed a safety bag just for that. It turned out that it was diffused at the gate that people didn’t get through. No one, I mean, I say no one died on our estate, but 500 people in my city, so imagine Adelaide in flames.
[00:21:59] And, um, and so, and the, the great thing about South African people is that it’s great and it’s a setback. Is that a week later, once it all settled down, south Africans were going. Aren’t we amazing? We protected our communities. We don’t need the cops, we don’t need this. We don’t. And there’s something in that, that sort of diehard mentality of community, even if it’s versus another community, it’s like, we see how we overcame this.
[00:22:30] And we all pulled together and all I saw was, well, the rich people protected their homes. The poor people got isolated. It’s the same system and already we are forgetting that 500 people have died. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? It’s just becoming this daily fodder. And I just thought, no, it’s, it’s it. I was already in the throes of considering Australia as my home.
[00:22:52] Um, I do have some family here and so I never want to say that I ran away from South Africa. ’cause South Africa gave me so much and gives me so much. I’m still touring there. I’m doing a show there for three months at the end of the year. I’ve got lots of opportunities there, but Australia just is something I wanna run towards.
[00:23:10] Mm. Okay. If that’s a difference, if that makes any sense. It does. It’s such a difference, you know, and in my head from the beginning I wrote the show thinking, what am I running towards? Not, why am I bailing on South Africa? What is it about Australia that hits me in the heart and goes, this is how human beings should live.
[00:23:26] And there’s a lot here that resonates with me there.
[00:23:30] There’s a lot globally about the timing of this story too, because when we first talked about you coming on here, which was a while ago now, um, Donald Trump hadn’t fully gotten into the White House yet and showed how completely greedy, inept and shortsighted he is.
[00:23:51] And how would the, the swift stroke of his pen, he can dismantle institutions, structures safety in his country and around the world, just on a whim. ’cause he’s a pigheaded, ignorant twit. Um. Yeah. And so I had this little bit of, not pride, but like, yes, come to Australia, this is a safe harbor. We’re solid.
[00:24:16] He’s shown us that even our structures of safety and order can, and with social media as well, quickly be rent apart. If the wrong meme takes hold and just makes people say, no, enough’s enough, I’m not gonna do this. And it’s free for all. So there is a sense where this perceived structure and, and, and safety is its own illusion, but it’s an illusion we all work towards until some people decide to go against it.
[00:24:55] Ben: Yeah. And dis and dismantle it. And it can happen quickly. Um, I think Australia, from my perspective, of course, I come from a very, um, dispar like. Crazy country. But from, from this, from my perspective, Australia is, and I’ve toured the world, I feel like Australia is one of the greatest egalitarian societies that one can exist in.
[00:25:20] And people do have a voice and people will be listened to. And yes, they’ll moan about stupid things maybe and silly things and small things. And it seems petty, but they’re moaning and they hopefully being listened to. Yeah. It still feels like that. Yeah. And I mean, for me that’s, that’s essential and that’s democracy.
[00:25:37] Yeah. So I would be proud if I were an Australian.
[00:25:40] Yeah. And we are. I’m just proud with one foot. Yes. One foot gently. Like just gently. What do, yeah.
[00:25:46] Ben: What’s gonna happen? And I agree. It’s a big warning.
[00:25:49] And in fact, Ben, your story just reminds us not to take it for granted. In fact, the stories of all immigrants should remind us to not be.
[00:25:59] Complacent. Uh, we need to be vigilant about what we’ve got. Not in a paranoid way, yes. But just yes. Appreciate.
[00:26:06] Ben: Absolutely. Yeah. Worth appreciating. Yes. Hard to when you inside and when it is. Yes, of course. ’cause it’s your life, you know? So, but it’s wonderful.
[00:26:14] Now, both South Africa and South Australia share more than just a directional word in their names of south.
[00:26:20] Both have colonial history, both have wine regions. Um, pretty stunning coastlines, uh, complex social dynamics. I think that’s all across to different degrees. With the little bit that you know, so far, what’s striking you as being similar between our sa and your SA and different, where, where are the, the large contrasts?
[00:26:43] Ben: The large contrasts are in wealth disparity. I think, like we mentioned, um, also South Africa is, it’s so hard to say this without, sorry. It’s incredibly, um. Opportunistic. And yet also then allows you an incredible entrepreneurial spirit. You know, because your systems don’t govern you so, so, so solidly. You can sort of govern yourself and wherever you can make your way, you can make your way, whether it’s, you know, legal or not, let’s put it that way.
[00:27:16] Um, but here I would say the coastline is fairly similar. Um, the, the, the natural beauty is, is an attractive point for both countries. Um, the, the language, thank goodness is a huge one. You know, as much as my accent might sound odd. Um, and I think there is a, there is a general sense that equality and good, good human, good human nature is an essential part of existing together.
[00:27:49] I think South Africans do also have that. No one’s trying to get, do, you know, get one up on somebody else. Oh, quite. You know, it’s, I think they’re quite an honest, specifically those, it, it does feel like we’re an honest, an honest bunch when you get down to the human being, but the system is broken.
[00:28:11] Wow.
[00:28:11] Okay. I love this. This is nuance, nuance central. Um, I should note dear listener, that Ben here is dressed in Orthodox male clothing. Not always something that he wore in South Africa. Yes. Uh, you could a character, I’m gonna try and pronounce Beauty.
[00:28:35] Ben: Beauty Ella. Yes.
[00:28:37] Beauty Rum. Ram. Um, would I be right in describing beauty as a drag queen or not quite?
[00:28:45] Ben: Yes, I suppose. I suppose so. Yeah. She, she was my alter ego. Mm. And a household
[00:28:48] name too.
[00:28:49] Ben: Yes, she did extremely well back home.
[00:28:51] Um. You actually, our drag queens have a lot of fun. They get stuck into the church and just make fun of sexual foibles.
[00:28:59] Right. You crossed into the political Yes. Uh, areas with yours. And I particularly want you to reflect on this because when Jacob Zuma, former president of South Africa was turfed out or run away, whatever, beauty got stuck into him, um, with, uh, I think let it be Oh yes. A version of The Bite, the Beatles song.
[00:29:23] Um, just a, can you unpack a satirical takedown by a drag queen? One of better terms, A, why did you do that? And B, was there any fallout?
[00:29:36] Ben: Huh. Okay. So there wa there is some fallout. Um, I started beauty nearly 15 years ago. Okay. Yeah. And I performed it continuously for 10 years. And during that time, the political correctness of, um, I, I call it political correctness.
[00:29:54] I think people became oversensitive to, admittedly I was playing a woman of color. Um, I didn’t use the black face mm-hmm. Thing. But at 15 years ago, that was extremely acceptable. And I would play to large black audiences. I would play to, um, audiences, uh, you know, majority white. And I would play for corporates.
[00:30:14] I did government functions, you know, where there’s a thousand mps or something. So it was all very accept, acceptable. And then it felt like. Seven or eight years ago, there was a turning point. Uh, so that video was done before that turning point and everyone universally disliked Jacob Zuma, thankfully. So Oh wow.
[00:30:33] So they were on my side in that they won’t, they wouldn’t think about, uh, they wouldn’t, they would look past the fact that firstly, I’m playing a woman, which, um, I think is a long, there’s a long history in in that, and I don’t see any problem in doing that. But in crossing the racial barrier and playing a person of color, um, post Jacob Zuma, it started becoming, uh, hard for people of color to laugh at that and hard for all of us to laugh at that.
[00:31:03] Um, and I didn’t feel funny anymore. I just felt that was the key. I felt like why go against the grain? Or it just didn’t feel instinctively funny to be putting on the accent. And, you know, why don’t I just, there’s so many good female. Comics of color in South Africa. Why do I need to be a comic of color as well?
[00:31:22] Why don’t I just be something else? Yeah. Um, and so I, I moved away from it. Uh, would I say I was pushed away from it? No, I don’t think so. I mean, I think, you know, people, you just had a, an i intuition. I did, I had an intuition that somewhere in my, my own instinct told me that it’s, it just didn’t feel right.
[00:31:42] How would that, tell me about that in, in, in Australia? ’cause I don’t know, I’m ignorant. If you had to cross the, the color barrier in terms of playing a character or using an accent, or are there certain nationalities that it’s acceptable to do that too? If you had to, you know, play a Chinese character as a white man or an in Indian character or a, uh, I don’t know.
[00:32:04] Is it acceptable?
[00:32:05] Uh, it’s, I think the transformation or the, the, um, the process of change has been very similar. So if you go back to. Um, the seventies, eighties, and obviously before that was all fairly kosher.
[00:32:23] Ben: Mm.
[00:32:23] Uh, a little bit edgy. Um, when, when I first came across beauty, I, my original thought was very much like Dam Mena Eridge
[00:32:32] Ben: Exactly.
[00:32:32] Here, except that was staying within the white correct color room. And to me, uh, I for my sins, do some stand up from time to time, have some of my own comedy characters. I’ve internalized a, a wish to never punch down, to always punch up, have a go at anyone in power. Mm-hmm. And not punch down. And I think that dynamic governs, and again, I think there’s almost something flawed in it too, by saying, I’m not going to play anyone who is Indian or Chinese, et cetera.
[00:33:10] On one hand is virtual virtuous on another hand. Implicit in that is that is there’s a power dynamic of some kind that you Yes. That or you, you are weak. Yeah. Yeah. Which is, but there also is a history, um, exactly. A racial, racist history there as well. Mm-hmm. So it’s complicated. Mm-hmm. I think you’d have to have a fairly decent reason for it.
[00:33:30] And I think it’s within, the other thing is, of course, I know a number of Indian comedians who will obviously accentuate Aussies and, you know, white characters, and we give them a pass because that’s, that’s perceived, I think, as punching up. Mm. And so I think that’s one of the dynamics at work there. Uh, I don’t think we’ve quite worked it out.
[00:33:52] And I think one thing we forget is actors are acting. They’re, they’re, they are taking on a character, but there’s a, there’s an ecosystem around that. Yeah. Uh, and it’s horses for causes.
[00:34:03] Ben: And a good barometer is always, especially if you’re a comedian like you are in certain circumstances. Are people laughing?
[00:34:10] Are they enjoying it? Are people coming to see it? Yeah. Which means you are, you are touching the psyche of others. Yeah. That is accurate. I mean, you can also, you know, do something niche. I’m not saying can’t do that. Absolutely.
[00:34:21] I think as long as you’re not for me, as long as comedian, I don’t like comedians who are punching down.
[00:34:26] Uh, and, uh, if there’s. Self-deprecating. If, if they make themselves the, the, but, um, they can still get a point across and we are with them. And anyway, so there’s, there’s a, there’s a whole nother episode on there. That’ll be, there’s a
[00:34:39] Ben: whole, but it’s fascinating. It is really interesting stuff.
[00:34:43] Now, um, you’ve done a lot of pantomime in your past lots.
[00:34:46] Yes. Gloriously playing villains, I believe. Mm. Uh, the Evil queen, the ugly sister, captain Hawke, um, have those characters actually taught you anything about surviving in life or you at the gates going, ah,
[00:35:02] Ben: those characters are, for me, a it’s great to be employed by someone else for, for an extended period. I absolutely love it to be in a big cast, you know, with a hundred people or something, and backstage crew and in a huge 2000 seated theaters. That for me is the thrill of it. What have I learned from them?
[00:35:24] I’ve learned from pantomime that. You’ve gotta give your entire soul to the stage. So it’s gotta come from your stomach. You’ve gotta come from your stomach. You’ve gotta put that emotion and that character through your, through your heart, out through your eyes into someone, audience members’ eyes, and then write down into their heart and their soul.
[00:35:45] And if you don’t do that with pantomime. You lose them. It’s, it’s, it’s much, it’s larger than life. It’s, it’s completely engrossing. You feel the space, don’t you? You do. And you can go as wild as you like. That’s what I love. You can really sort of open yourself up and just throw it to the back seat and, mm-hmm.
[00:36:06] Um, and of course, get away with. Silly innuendo. Great bits of comedy. Yes. Little side gags that you wouldn’t put somewhere else. Yeah. You know, and the audience is not gonna go, oh, that’s off for topic.
[00:36:17] And the audience comes along with you. They, they switch, they love it into pantomime mode. And so stuff that they’re not, they might sometimes look down on, they go, they, it’s, it’s fine.
[00:36:26] It’s exactly. You get a little, we’re here for dad jokes. Bit
[00:36:29] Ben: of a par. Yeah. You get a little bit of a pass on like really corny stuff. In fact, the more you play it, the better you get.
[00:36:35] Yeah. I still remember in year seven, um, playing the lead in a melodrama for the whole school community. You know, four or 500 people in the audience.
[00:36:44] And I remember one line, the only thing I remember year seven was a few years ago, and, uh, the villain came on. And I said, ah, winter bottom, uh, they tell me you got the brush and winter bottom goes, ah, dirty rats. Who, who gave me away here take it back. And my hair brush really winter bottom. I don’t know why I remember that.
[00:37:06] Ben: I can see you playing
[00:37:08] that. Other than um, all the talcum powder in my hair for it was just mad antics. And I think. Because I, I, I’ve reviewed theater for well, many, many years, decades. And I do love a good solid, gritty play. But there are times when you, they can flick the switch and take you to a place where, like a good musical, for example, and you just get lost.
[00:37:31] Mm, love it. It’s beautiful. Um, talking of which, let’s talk about your, your production becoming benno. Um, and I’m sorry, you have been trying to reach for a little bit of fudge as we’ve been going in. Throw something into God while I ask you this question, if you like, um, you play multiple characters, including Mr.
[00:37:46] Brody, the board of security Officer. Um,
[00:37:51] Ben: oh, you’re not gonna do this to me? Are you? You gonna ask Don’t Okay. No, I’m joking. Yes. Go on. Continue your question. Well,
[00:38:00] I’m curious to know how you play him because, um, apropos of our previous, um, conversation about changing moods. Yes. Glen Nicholas, who. Is, uh, when, when, uh, we have our special guest on Bettina at the moment.
[00:38:14] He’s the director of that show. He, for many years, very famous comedian in Australia. He had a South African police officer, Sergeant Smith.
[00:38:23] Ben: Mm.
[00:38:23] He’d have a big police uniform, a huge belly. Mm. And he’d go here in South Africa we have licorice, all sorts in two separate bags. And this is right through. That’s pretty good apart.
[00:38:37] That’s pretty good. He had us, he just would play up that stereotype the whole way. Yes. Tell us about Brody. I, I leave the mystery for the show, but that’s that Aussie.
[00:38:47] Ben: So yes. This is great that we’re talking about this. ’cause I’m gonna learn this as I go. Um, even though I know the words,
[00:38:55] I know someone who works in our border security control.
[00:38:57] By the way, if you want a connection,
[00:38:59] Ben: do you, um,
[00:39:01] Matt Ford?
[00:39:02] Ben: Matt Ford
[00:39:03] used to work with them. Radio actually. Quite
[00:39:04] Ben: nice to chat.
[00:39:05] Yeah.
[00:39:06] Ben: Okay. Afterwards. I don’t actually have a visa, just the other door. Ding, ding, ding. Yeah, I could find his feet. So I, I, I, he’s quite pedantic. I try and play him a little bit. I try and play him quite particularly, I don’t know, I, I can’t tell.
[00:39:26] Uh, so he, I’m, I try and use the sing song of the Australian accent to sort of sell myself a little. Uh, but I, I feel extremely self-conscious right now trying to ham this up in front of you. Um, I met a guy in, uh, Sydney who was very particular and he liked to clip his sentences and he liked. See I’m running away from the microphone now.
[00:39:58] I’m, you keep guiding me forward. Um, and I don’t know, I’d be interested to know how that sounds. ’cause I’ve never done that in Australia.
[00:40:04] Do you know the funny thing is Mm. It sounds very much like Glen Nicholas doing. Sargent Smith does it? Hmm. I think you’ve tapped into the universal Australian, south African comedian Right.
[00:40:16] Doing the other country’s voice. Right. What could I do better? Come on. Where could I move away? ’cause that’s that. Oh, actually no, I, I, you know how we say you get a license in pantomime? Yes. Yes. I think we, you get a license when you do that. ’cause we see enough of, we hear enough yes. Of what it is. Yes. And we’re not expecting it to be Yes.
[00:40:37] Uh, you know, because exact, and especially because you’re in South Australia here right now, remember? Yes. No convicts. So we speak the Queen’s English and if it was in eastern states Right. Sydney, Melbourne, et cetera. Right. The Queensland even more, right. Year mate. Yeah. All that sort of stuff is all there Much speaker.
[00:40:57] Yeah. Much sticker there mate, right? Yeah. Yeah. It’s
[00:40:59] Ben: all out the side of the, that’s right. Side of the mouth.
[00:41:02] That’s right. So I’m not the person to ask.
[00:41:04] Ben: Ah, interesting.
[00:41:04] Because when I travel, people say, which part of England are you from?
[00:41:08] Ben: Because obviously it’s my biggest concern. I mean, the guy on, don’t worry about it.
[00:41:10] The guy’s on stage for three minutes. Yeah. You know, out of 55. But he is my like no that look, he’s the one I’m
[00:41:17] just remember. Yes. You know how they say bad publicity? Any publicity is good. Publicity. Publicity, like. You’ll get laughs now whether they’re laughing with your character or at you, you still get laughs.
[00:41:29] Yeah. So does that give you any so for your soul?
[00:41:33] Ben: Yes, it does. Well, thank you for, for asking me that. Um,
[00:41:38] now, um, you’ve had some fudge Yes. Today. Yes. I just wanna ask a couple of food, food things. Um, I used to work with a South African woman who told me about Ong. Um, and I thought she meant bull tongue. And I’m thinking this does not sound appetizing, but I’ve since learned that it’s not, that’s ong is, uh, that dried beef Yes.
[00:41:57] Dried. Although from South Africa, you can make it from all sorts of, of animals. Yeah. Yeah. Um, are you a fan? Big fan? Yeah.
[00:42:04] Ben: Mm, it’s delicious. Get it slightly rare. Nicely seasoned. It’s dried. And then the, the inside should still be slightly pink. Don’t think, don’t think blood or any of that or steak. Think sort of a cured, it’s like, um.
[00:42:18] You know, a salmon, maybe a Dr. A smoked salmon that’s maybe put out for a little while and then left to dry. Let’s think of it like that.
[00:42:27] Charles Darwin just turned in his grave. That’s all right. Uh, so Bill tog you, you highly recommend any other little delicacies from South Africa that we should try, that we might not have.
[00:42:36] Ben: Um,
[00:42:37] good traditional, obviously
[00:42:38] Ben: Bvo, which is like, um, farm sausage is a big one. Oh, right, yeah. Yes. Roy Bos Tea you might know about, uh, it’s sort of a, um, a calming tea and, uh, severe laxative. No, not really. Wow. It’s very good. I hope that’s on the packer. Uh, cook Sisters little Twirled sweets. Um, yeah, there’s Plenty Pup, which is a Zulu sort of traditional, uh, starch.
[00:43:09] Yeah, lots of good stuff.
[00:43:10] Can I just say, if you’re going down the main street of, uh, any of our country towns, don’t walk down saying, I’m looking for some farm sausage. Uh, just, just to keep you safe. Okay. Thanks. Just to keep you safe. I
[00:43:21] Ben: appreciate that this, you’re a wealth of information. I’m so glad I came here for all the advice.
[00:43:27] Now look, um, I literally, uh, I hope we cross paths again ’cause there’s much more to explore, but I talk us through becoming bno, Woodfield Town Hall, and also the Warehouse Theater in un. Mm-hmm. Um, we’ll put the link to the, the show, the Fringe Guide listing in the show. But give us your best pitch. You’ve bumped into us on Rundel Street and you want us to come to your show.
[00:43:50] How would you bait the hook?
[00:43:52] Ben: I would say that it is a show about a guy who gets stuck in an immigration room for an hour while he tries to iron out, while they try to iron out a problem with his, his, um. Is residency visa. And it is funny, it is, uh, moving. It speaks to people who don’t know quite where home is yet.
[00:44:14] It speaks to a massive sort of immigration population of Australia. Generationally probably going back a couple of generations, a lot of parents, a lot of your parents would’ve, would’ve not lived here. Um, and it speaks to the crossing of cultures and it’s also suspenseful because we don’t know if this guy we love is actually gonna get in.
[00:44:39] Um,
[00:44:40] sounds like Friday night down Hinney. Yeah. It’s like you’ve had too much go home. Yes. Wow. Okay. Well look, I think you’ve baited the hook pretty well there. Do you think so? It’s like that. Well, I’m
[00:44:50] Ben: going to my first hive this afternoon. I haven’t thought about how I’m gonna pitch this thing, so stick to that.
[00:44:55] That’s not bad actually. Okay.
[00:44:56] It’s like a well, well-seasoned piece of Bill Tong and just slightly tender on the inside. Actually, one final thing before we wrap up the interview proper, the comedy, there’s a little 62nd clip. That you’ve put up on the Fringe Guide or someone has Oh yes. And it’s particularly the physical theater aspect of the show.
[00:45:16] Is that because you think that’s gonna have a greater chance to cross cultures than some of the dialogue or what’s the No,
[00:45:23] Ben: here I, here comes, here comes honesty now. Okay. Alright. So I was at the fringe office and I said, what else can I do? And they said, you gotta put a little video clip on. I said, listen, I haven’t got a clip of the show yet.
[00:45:34] This show’s brand new. And they were like, okay, we’ll just put any clip up. So I was, but then that’s not gonna be the same show. And they said, no, but people do that all the time. They just take a piece of something that they’ve done and they just add it as part of the, the fringe pitch. So that’s the truth.
[00:45:48] That’s from a show called Becoming, uh, called um, um, uh, Benny Bush Whacker, which was where I played this. Like, and I, anyway, I, I said to them, it’s not fun. And they were like, it’s fun. Stick it up. So that’s the truth. God bless the
[00:46:04] Adelaide Fringe people. Look, I’ve been reviewing for 20 or 30 years now, and I can tell you, I know many artists go, oh heck, it’s the deadline.
[00:46:12] We’ve gotta chuck something in the fringe guide.
[00:46:14] Ben: Yes.
[00:46:15] And it bears no resemblance to anything that they finally produce.
[00:46:18] Ben: Yes. And I mean, and we get
[00:46:20] marked down for that. Yes. By me
[00:46:22] Ben: are good. Yes. Then they should. And that’s one thing if you did come see my show, you might make me down on, because when, when I first started writing this, I said, I’m gonna go all out comedy and I’m gonna go and make, you know, Australia and South Africans in Australia laugh.
[00:46:35] And then, uh, I suddenly realized I didn’t want to tell that story over time. And then it sort of evolved and changed. And
[00:46:43] so it’s not funny.
[00:46:44] Ben: It’s funny. Yes. It’s funny. Oh, but it’s heartfelt, but it’s funny. It does everything, Steve, everything. It tugs the heartstrings and you will have a laugh. I guarantee it.
[00:46:56] Goodness me. Yeah. Goodness me. Ben Voss, thank you for being part of Adelaide Show.
[00:47:01] Ben: Listen, thank you for having me. Genuinely. Thank you for reaching out to, uh, well, me reaching out to you and then you just saying yes. Yeah, let’s do it because, um, it’s very generous of you to have me
[00:47:11] and face to face is worth it.
[00:47:12] ’cause you’ve got some fudge. Exactly. Uh, and she And a coffee.
[00:47:15] Steve: And a coffee.
[00:47:26] But
[00:47:26] Steve: Bettina Bitchkinky joins us today. She’s the glittering jewel of Belarus Broadcasting and formidable host of Club Eurovision, this year’s Adelaide Fringe. And behind that, in. Intimidating sparkle and that Soviet trained demeanor lies. A woman who once made a potato farmer cry with just a raised eyebrow during a morning television weather segment.
[00:47:56] Adelaide, south Australia. Prepare yourselves Patina. Welcome to the Adelaide Show Podcast.
[00:48:03] Bettina: Oh, you are so happy to have me. Thank you so much. I love it. Patina,
[00:48:08] um, Eurovision, it’s practically a religion in Europe, here in Australia. You know, some people still think it’s just about costumes and key changes.
[00:48:18] How would you explain revision’s cultural significance to us? Poor deprived Adelaide.
[00:48:25] Bettina: Eurovision. I mean, it’s been going for so long. There have been as many euro visions as I have had husbands, so like my husbands, some different in each year is full of color and culture. That really reflects the European identity of people coming together in this smic like beru salad with feta cheese and all your favorite toppings.
[00:48:50] If you like nuts, you put that in there too. There’s a bit of this, a bit of that. Whatever you like, it is like a flavorsome salad from, from Europe is how I would describe all the best things.
[00:49:02] A mouthful of entertainment. Yeah,
[00:49:05] Bettina: I like it. I may use this one, may I use this one, please? Of course, of
[00:49:08] course.
[00:49:08] Thank you that it’s, I’m reaching a hand of generosity across the oceans.
[00:49:13] Steve: Thank you.
[00:49:14] Um, now in Belarus, I, a little bit of your background here. You hosted see my minks today, which Yes, I understand was mandatory viewing for citizens. What performance techniques from Interroga, I, sorry, I mean from television, have you brought to club Eurovision?
[00:49:31] ’cause you’ll be hosting that?
[00:49:33] Bettina: I will be hosting, and let me tell you, I do not take any, how you say, zen hausen in the, I don’t know this more German word, but you know, I don’t take any of the bully, uh, pool from the people. So I like to, I like the rules. I like to tell people how it goes. Yes, no fun business, but also having fun at the same time, but also shut your mouth when you be told, you know?
[00:49:55] So it’s nice little balance. We like to have the balance of the strict but also fun time, like a crazy disco, but with rules. Does this make sense for you?
[00:50:06] Uh, I don’t think I can say anything other than yes, Betina
[00:50:11] Bettina: correct.
[00:50:12] Now, many Australians of course, might not be emotionally prepared for the barrage of feelings, glitter, and wind machines that they’ll be experiencing at Club Eurovision.
[00:50:22] So are there any survival tips that you can offer from your homeland when you have this sort of experience? Yeah,
[00:50:29] Bettina: that’s right. You must listen when you come into room, uh, like I mentioned with the rules, you know, to listen. But there’s two important things. You give your flag, you must wave the flag.
[00:50:39] Mm-hmm. Clapping the hands and the clacker. Now the clacker, you know what the clacker is? Yeah.
[00:50:44] It it something you hold in your hands that makes noise.
[00:50:47] Bettina: The clicking. Yes. We love the indie audience interaction with the clacking. So you have fun with all these things. Unlike other fringe shows, we love to make the noise, we encouraging the noise to be made from the audience.
[00:51:00] So, you know, we get, we get a sense that the audience love the show, they love it and we love it. And it’s this bouncing back forth from contestant to audience. It’s this cataclysmic alchemy that just happens and then all gone finished at the end of show, but perfect ending. Love it.
[00:51:18] Look, we all love a perfect ending, but this is a very unusual show where they actually want the audience to make noise.
[00:51:24] Bettina: This is exactly right. This is a noisy show. We invite the noise, invite the people, they get to vote live. A hundred percent. This is not like fifa, it not like the fake X factor voting. It’s not like the Trump election voting this real a hundred percent.
[00:51:40] And when it comes to clacking, you would’ve clacked a bit in your life.
[00:51:43] Are there any tips? How do you clack? Well,
[00:51:46] Bettina: interesting you say cling because they call me plucky. Plucky. When I was child growing up on the poultry farm, I was much like chicken being six born and family of boys, they call me plucky. Plucky. So I like to also cliquey. Cliquey. I’ve been doing this long time, uh, basically cliquey cl you get handed this clicky machine.
[00:52:04] Thingy when you come in and we encourage more of the clacking and yes, you have to come to find exactly what the experience is of the clacker.
[00:52:12] Alright. Now the experience could happen on the inside too. ’cause I hear that vodka plays an essential role in Eurovision appreciation. Is there a, a proper technique to vodka, vodka consumption that enhances the viewing experience?
[00:52:27] Or is it just about numbing yourself to all the aggressive key changes?
[00:52:32] Bettina: Oh, you make me laugh. Aggressive key chain. My favorite. I love, I love much like how we do Belarus. You get tiny beru and you suck on beru before drinking the vodka, unlike what you do with the tequila and you know, Mexico. But, um, sorry, what was question?
[00:52:49] I got you lost me at vodka.
[00:52:51] Uh, well I’ve, I’ve never thought of shoving a bere in my mouth to suck before I then drink vodka. Um, is there a particular technique apart from that, that gets the balance right? ’cause I believe the arch bar, I. Does serve vodka. I imagine the stocks will have been increased of vodka before the club Eurovision night.
[00:53:10] That would be mandatory, wouldn’t it?
[00:53:12] Bettina: Yes. Ignia and I see if I can import some be route. We have had problems with importation recently, you know, with tariffs and all, all whatnot coming in from that region. So we may have to put up with whatever they have, but I’m sure they have more than enough for people to enjoy on the night and yet sometimes getting little tipsy, a little woo-hoo, a little plastered.
[00:53:32] Help you enjoy. Show more.
[00:53:35] Now this is this your first time to an Adelaide Fringe? ’cause we are very proud of the Adelaide Fringe.
[00:53:40] Bettina: You know what I have sometimes seen on YouTube Fringe show, but first time in Adelaide Fringe and. Wow. Wow, wow. I know a show no doubt will be best show, but there are other shows that are, well, how you say subpar, but still okay to see.
[00:53:55] I don’t mind, but it’s very good feeling, good vibe. I looked,
[00:53:59] uh, how, how, from what you’ve seen, how does, how would Adelaide Fringe compared to say, some of the cultural festivals of Belarus, which I imagine involve lots of tractors and patriotic potato harvesting competitions. I’ve seen some of that on YouTube.
[00:54:15] Bettina: You know, it’s really interesting. There is many a farming show with chickens and you get cows sometimes. These, um, how, what do you call, uh, donkey? There’s an S competition. An S So we have, we see who has, uh, best s and when they win, they get big kiss on s uh, for number one prize.
[00:54:34] Wow. Have you ever entered, have you got an S that you’ve entered in a competition?
[00:54:39] No.
[00:54:39] Bettina: My funny s but my s was never big enough for the, for the actual competition, so I did not make, make it into that competition. But you know. That’s okay. I have Eurovision, so yeah, I’m happy with it.
[00:54:51] I believe the director of the show, Glen Nicholas, has sent you some video footage and photos of the Arch Bar Hotel, the venue where it’s happening.
[00:54:58] How does it measure up to say some of the, the grand halls and the brutalist television studios of Belarus State Television?
[00:55:07] Bettina: Well, I have to say the ARC bar, I like this relaxed feel, you know, it’s just, there’s a a lot going on. You know, I have feel like there’s more freedom here to do, to do so much more, you know, modern.
[00:55:19] I like the modern, I like the people drinking. I like that it’s not in the city. It’s a bit cooly funky dude. Uh, whereas yes, you are right back in the Belarus a little bit too. Too strict to Stark. I’m coming around to this more modern style of performance venue. I say it’s very, very nice.
[00:55:38] Um, and just ’cause people have to make choices about what shows they’re going to see.
[00:55:43] Uh, during Fringe. I’ve been reviewing the Fringe for a long time and I, they sort of boiled down to either TV celebrities who are caching in on their name, uh, nude or semi-nude acrobats, uh, sweaty theater troops trying to be profound and, you know, stand up comedians trying to be profane against all of those.
[00:56:05] How would you rank and compare Club Eurovision?
[00:56:10] Bettina: Put it this way, you either eat porridge or you eat eggs Benedict for the breakfast. What do you prefer? You tell me. What do you prefer?
[00:56:19] I’m an eggs Benny man. I.
[00:56:21] Bettina: Thank you very much. So you made your choice Eurovision versus sweaty eggs on the bottom, like the sweaty comedian and like you say, sweaty, disgusting.
[00:56:30] I don’t like who, like this kind of thing. Sit in room, listen to one man talk Lin. I mean, come on. No competition. Eurovision, everyone involved many people. So fun number one.
[00:56:43] And, and Club Eurovision is like watching Eurovision, uh, in Europe. This is our own version of it, I guess. Yes, there are lots of different contestants.
[00:56:52] I’ve seen Victor and his lawnmowers, um, the Mysterious Lost Mariachis, and a fellow called Gustav who sings in guises. Have you got any tips? Who’s going to win?
[00:57:05] Bettina: You know, I did say Gustav when he came out of the shower in his dressing room for rehearsal once. And I have to say he really did have a huge talent for, uh, for singing.
[00:57:16] So I would, I would have to say Gustav, you know, he’s in the running. I think the ladies will like a Gustav. Uh, but you know what, any, anything can happen. Anything can happen on the night. This is the beauty of Eurovision. It’s up to the people to vote.
[00:57:32] Oh, look, I love that. And I also love the fact that, um, Eurovision songs are often about love.
[00:57:38] Um, you were married to Oslo at one point. The songs in your revision, do they capture what is the true about East European romance? Do they capture the spirit in any way, shape or form? And how would you describe that?
[00:57:53] Bettina: You know, sometimes depending on song, uh, I had many husbands Oslo funny. He did actually Three husbands die.
[00:58:00] All different reasons. I don’t know why. All very strange, but we don’t talk about it. Uh, yeah. So I would say love, you know, these are a little bit more happy. We are so depressed in our feelings. We don’t show love. We show love by smack and by, you know, uh, angry look on face. But inside we love and I think it’s chance for Europeans to really come out of the shell and go crazy.
[00:58:24] So a little bit more extreme. They’re really showing it with the color, with the outfit, with the crazy song. So I think this is a really good chance for, you know, people to really see the true Europeans. And, uh, also not so many Europeans for this world Club Eurovision, a few different countries you notice.
[00:58:42] Oh, that’s right. Including Australia. Uh, England. In there, there’s, there’s quite a mix. Yes.
[00:58:46] Bettina: India. Yes.
[00:58:47] India’s there too. That’s right. Um, look, it’s, it sounds like a whole lot of fun. Any final thoughts for someone who’s thinking about buying a ticket? What if they’re shy? Is it still somewhere that shy people can go?
[00:59:02] It does sound very noisy.
[00:59:04] Bettina: I don’t think you’ll come if you’re shy. If you’re shy, uh, stay home. I would say don’t come unless you have fun friends. Then you get on the back of the fun friend and you come, then you maybe drink bottle of vodka cup before you come and you’re not so shy. You’d be surprised.
[00:59:18] What is Stoy does to you at around three in the morning? I tell you yes, but oh, come one. Come all shy. Not shy. Big fat, small, tiny, fluffy, hairy. Whatever you like, bold. Come to show. We celebrate together as one.
[00:59:35] And I just thought, um, I’ve heard you referred to as a triple threat, Bettina. ’cause you sing, you dance and you make audiences deeply uncomfortable.
[00:59:45] That’s a rare collection of skills.
[00:59:47] Bettina: Yes, I would agree with you. I may, I thought you were talking about when you said triple threat. Um, my, my, my bikini line, they call this also triple threat. That’s another story. But yes, triple threat. It is hard to combine these, uh, these three things. But I think people enjoy, I think people will, will warm to me or, um, cold to me, how you say.
[01:00:08] I don’t know. We’ll find out only night.
[01:00:10] And just in case anyone’s become really, uh, en enamored of you because you have a wonderful presence, is there a chance of getting your autograph on the night? Did, how, how, how much do you give of yourself to the people?
[01:00:24] Bettina: I, I, I charge $10 per autograph and there’s long line.
[01:00:29] So if you’re willing to wait in line, yeah. You, I charge and have $10 in po uh, in pocket cash Only if you let people know cash only I will sign the autograph for you.
[01:00:40] Wow. Now, this is only a one night only show, Wednesday the 19th of March.
[01:00:45] Bettina: Yes.
[01:00:46] Uh, so you’ve gotta be there or you miss out, which sounds like going to the supermarket in Belarus.
[01:00:54] Bettina: How so?
[01:00:54] Mm-hmm. Oh, well I, I’ve heard things are often out of stock, so if you’re not there, are you, oh, you
[01:01:00] Bettina: miss out on the morning, early bird not getting the worm, as they say. That’s right. Yeah. The tooth to the train has left the building as they say. Yes, it’s exactly right. So yes. Get your tickets, get in early.
[01:01:10] We’re selling out actually quite well.
[01:01:12] Oh, good. So, um, how many friends should you bring along with you? What, what’s the ideal number of friends? Do all buy tickets together?
[01:01:20] Bettina: 23.
[01:01:21] Beautiful. And I’m sure there’s a science behind that, isn’t there?
[01:01:25] Bettina: Absolutely. It’s all in the voting. The little robot monkeys they know, they work out statistics, they know
[01:01:31] Bettina.
[01:01:32] I’m sure you’ve got lots of preparation to do before you get over here for the big night on Wednesday the 19th of March. Thank you so much for taking some time out. I’m glad Vladimir Putin hasn’t cut all the internet cables around the world, so we were able to talk to each other and I look forward to meeting you and hopefully jumping that $10 queue to get a little insignia of Betina somewhere special.
[01:01:55] Bettina: Maybe you’ll get something a little extra if you play your cards right as they say.
[01:01:59] Alright. You know how to beta hook.
[01:02:02] Bettina: Oh, thank you for having me. Beautiful.
[01:02:04] Steve: Lovely to be here.
[01:02:18] In the musical pilgrimage, the
[01:02:19] song we’re gonna finish off the show with is by Fergus Maximus and Dr. D. They’ve got a show called Back in a DL, more Sweet Home songs. If you’re curious. Episode 387, they, they dominated the whole episode. We listened to a number of their tracks. These are songs written about, inspired by Adelaide, south Australia, current day and history.
[01:02:41] And while Ben Voss is still here, uh, we are gonna listen to a song called Cross the King. Now, I dunno if you’ve come across this, have you looked at the map of Adelaide City Center? Much Mm. On Google Maps. Okay. Plenty. So there’s King William Street. Mm-hmm. Goes up the middle.
[01:02:57] Ben: Mm-hmm. Is that, that, is that sort of north, south, north, north, south?
[01:02:59] Mm-hmm.
[01:03:00] Yes. And roads cross it. Mm-hmm. But you’ve, no. Have you noticed that the name changes either side of King William Street?
[01:03:08] Ben: No.
[01:03:09] No. Okay. The reason why it’s thought is that you cannot cross the king. Ah. Uh, so that’s what the myth is. In Adelaide history, Keith Conn, who’s a very well known historian, and well, he, he knows everything about, everything about South Australia.
[01:03:29] He was on one of our early episodes, he blew that to pieces. Mm. What it was, in fact, was the founding fathers little selfish mini Trumps, um, all wanted their own street names, and there weren’t enough street names, uh, streets to go around. So, so how do you do with that?
[01:03:47] Ben: Cut it in half?
[01:03:48] Yeah. Just to, just change the name either side of King Williams Street.
[01:03:52] Welcome to Aela. That that’s, that’s
[01:03:55] Ben: just give everyone a peace. Make everybody happy. That’s right. And, and what’s the song, what’s the reverence of the song, Jen? So the
[01:04:01] song crossed the king is going into this whole myth. Oh, that whole concept and the concept of you cannot cross the king. Understood.
[01:04:09] Because that sort of works. Yes, yes, yes. Uh, until you know the Yes, the truth, the the truth. There is one line in it where they say, let’s be frankland people that Flinders can be keepers. They both plays on different street names and boys. Seriously. I love a dad joke, but you can’t be serious. They’re, they’re actually lyrics from the song.
[01:04:32] Um, but I’m gonna, I’m not gonna hold. We’ll give them a pass like it’s a pantomime. Let’s have a listen Now he’s crossed the King Fergus Maximus
[01:04:40] Steve: and Dr. D.
[01:09:05] Thanks for listening. What a fantastic
[01:09:07] international episode. It has been. Uh, I still can’t get rid of Ben Voss. He’s still here. But Ben, thank you again.
[01:09:15] Ben: Hi. I’m just moving. Sorry, I’ve just got my bag. I’m just moving in. Yes, don’t have accommodation. No visa, no anything, and just excuse me.
[01:09:23] All the best with the fringe, and, uh, until next time, it’s good night for me, Steve Davis.
[01:09:28] Good night, Dawn.