Leave the Cat Alone productions presents... Diabolica Jones.

“Every day a new adventure, every day try something new”

Every morning Diabolica Jones gets up, stretches his legs, does a little dance and goes to work. Every day the same, every day exactly the same..... until he is invited to take on a new challenge every day. Lion tamer, teacher, builder, accountant, football star…what will he try next? Join us as Diabolica Jones tries new things, takes incredible risks and finds new adventures around every corner.

Diabolica Jones is about leaving your comfort zone. It encourages taking risks and trying new things- even if it means sometimes making mistakes.

The story is about a young man and an unlikely hero, Diabolica Jones, who has a very strict daily routine. Working all day at a computer, Jones is stuck in rut, until one day his computer comes to life and sends him on amazing adventures. As Jones tries new things, we see him begin to change and grow, and affect those around him.

The making of Diabolica Jones has quite a story behind it, as writer and director Anna Held tell Lowdown.

“ I was driving in my car with my younger brother and, talking about career directions and our goals for the future. During our conversation it became apparent that my brother and I share an unattractive trait- we suffer the common, crippling curse of perfectionism- if you aren’t going to be good at it, why try?

“What if,” mused my brother, “you were the worst in the world at what you did? What then?”

The worst football player, the worst pilot, the worst surgeon, the worst circus performer. Hilarious? Terrifying?

This kernel of an idea gave birth to Diabolica Jones.”

The company’s philosophy is to visit all the elements of a great story. As the refuse to avoid the happy and sad, the scary and funny, success or failure, Diabolica’s story has both light and shade as it follows the life of an ordinary person trying extraordinary new things - a quality that is rightly being advocated for in the education system.

“Once we had found the ‘heart’ of the story we wanted to tell, it was time to play with giving it a form. My experience of younger audiences suggests that they have a high level of visual literacy and thus Diabolica Jones became a visual and physical piece of theatre. Together with three of my favourite Melbourne based actors, I began work on creating not only the daily life, but also the fantastical adventures that Diabolica embarks on.’, says Held.

After a sell-out season in 2009, Leave the Cat Alone productions will remount this production with the original cast and share it with new audiences in Victorian schools.

For further info visit the Arts2 GO Regional Arts Victoria Profile in the Lowdown Whats On Event Lisitngs