My old buddy Baz Luhrmann got in touch the other day to ask if I could be MC Big Nelly at the launch of his new vodka, Absolut Oz. The do was at the Bondi Pavilion where Baz and I launched our own theatrical careers back in 1982. We’d both starred in movies the year before (me in ‘Puberty Blues’ and him in ‘Winter Of Our Dreams’) and had tried to get into NIDA to hone what had until then been an instinctive craft but we were unceremoniously rejected. So we decided to put on our own play in which we obviously starred. It was Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘American Days’ and, as Baz reminded me last night, the opening was attended by the awesome Aussie actor Jack Thompson and the legendary agent Harry M Miller. The critics were also there and they hated it.
Undeterred, we pursued our dream and finally got into NIDA where we worked up a little play called ‘Strictly Ballroom’ which Baz is now about to unleash on Sydney audiences as a characteristically camp and overblown musical, 30 years on. But last night it was strictly vodka.
After the mandatory papping that one must undergo as the date of the maestro, we settled into the cocktails, each one named in honour of an Aussie beach – Hells Bells, Tama Glama, South Avoca Elevator and Stairway to the Moon (Cable Beach).
Uber Creative Director Tony Assness did the decor which included performing muscle Marys, gigantic bowls of kaffir limes and a 1939 wooden caravan to which I retreated after the speeches. It was the most adorable unit I’d ever experienced with yellow bakelite handles on the tiny kitchen drawers and triangular pop out windows with delightful fitted curtains. Our Lady of the Caravans was there to greet me in her sexy negligee with a cocktail in hand. I immediately wanted to hitch the whole thing to my tow bar and drive off into the tequila sunset.
A friend had just given me a copy of the inaugural edition of a new magazine called ‘Time to Roam Australia’ – Australia’s new favourite caravan and camping magazine – the cover of which features a fab photo of The Don, one of Australia’s first popular trade-built caravans currently celebrating its 80th birthday. Caravan Love was definitely in the air.
I grabbed Baz and the managing director of Pernod-Ricard Julien Hemard and we all cosied up together on the crocheted nana blankets and pillows away from the madding crowd. This adorable little roadshow is about to hit a beach near you so stay tuned for updates and remember to always drink responsibly.
struth, can’t wait to see it at Bombo! I’m thirsty.