Speed gets raves in the west
2026 has started with a bang - with an incredible response to our season of Speed: The Movie, The Play at Perth FringeWorld.
Our incredible Perth cast! Back row L-R: Usman Banday (Mac), Lily Moran (Harry) Nigel Goodwin (The Tourist) Lucia Merriweather (Helen) and Johnny Townsager (Dennis).
Front row: Lily Jones (Sam) and Ray Teakle (Keanu).
Perth was the first city we took the show to outside our home town of Brisbane. We had a wonderful debut at the 2017 festival, and returned for the 2020 event. Set first in the cultural precinct at the end of James Street, and subsequently at the decommissioned Girls School in East Perth, both shows featured primarily our Brisbane cast and drew a wonderful response from Perth audiences.
It’s hard to believe that was six years ago.
We always wanted to bring the show back, and this season has allowed us to record a few firsts. For starters, we’ve been fortunate to be able to bring the bus into The Pleasure Garden at Northbridge, the sparkling festival hub in the city’s main party precinct.
We’ve also been blessed with a tremendous local cast - talented, enthusiastic actors who saw the call-out for a big, crazy show on a bus and said “Count me in!”
With these two elements in place, it meant we could run the show for the entire four-week FringeWorld season, a first for Speed: The Movie, The Play outside Brisbane.
For a small company like Act React, it’s a big opportunity to have such a presence. We’re grateful to FringeWorld for partnering with us once more - and of course to the Bus Preservation Society of Western Australia for allowing us to turn their Mercedes 177 bus into a fantastic venue.
It’s been wonderful to see our Perth cast members embrace the show as their own. Speed: The Movie, The Play is a show of many moving parts both in and around the bus. Our cast have thrown themselves at this challenge and relished the chance to add their own flair to proceedings - and audiences are loving it. Here’s a sample of the Fringe Reacts audiences have left for us:
We’ve also had some fantastic reviews:
From Xpress magazine:
“Speed: The Movie, The Play is funny, frantic and far more entertaining than it has any right to be and a reminder that at a Fringe World experience, anything is possible. Brilliant in its scrappiness and utterly alive, you don’t just watch this; you survive it.”
From Perth Happenings:
“Hilariously funny if you’ve watched the movie, hilariously funny if you HAVEN’T watched the movie, and possibly, dare I say it, BETTER than the movie. A resounding and enthusiastic 5 stars.”
From Stage Whispers:
“Speed is a must see for anyone who loves quirky and frantic theatre, and of course for lovers of the film. Great fun.”
We were also thrilled to celebrate 250 performances of Speed: The Movie, The Play on Saturday 24 January.
The show began life in 2015, and it’s so wonderful to see it rack up these terrific milestones. We celebrated with cake for all!
With one week of performances left, our FringeWorld season is officially sold out. We cannot thank Perth audiences enough for jumping onboard the bus with us!
