LAST year we were on a four-day cruise and a stopover took us to Tangalooma Resort, Moreton Island.
The weather was not favourable to lie on the sand or go snorkelling, so we went to the tavern and experienced a unique group of entertainers who were absolutely sensational.
The group is called Geed Up and presents an experience called “The Worst Show Ever”.
After playing a one-off gig onboard Port AdVenture Cruises in May, Geed Up returns to Port Macquarie next week for a series of shows.
They will play dinner shows onboard the cruise boat on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 October, and present free 45-minute pop-up shows from 5pm both days under the new stage at the river end of Clarence Street.
Geed Up member Khan joins us for this week’s edition of Port Mac Goss.
Khan, I saw you guys perform and I was speechless. Firstly, give us some background on the group.
There are seven of us and we are like a “fruit salad”. We have nationalities from New Zealand, Philippines, Japan and Australia. Our show is very visual with comedy, acrobatics and of course singing with songs that everyone knows but with our own take on it.
Tell us the story of how the group was formed?
We did a show at Tangalooma back in 2017 and we got such a good response that the management at the tavern booked us every time a cruise ship visited the island. This year we have 54 ships visiting Tangalooma and we are booked for all of them. We also have a residency at Brisbane Eat Street which is a huge dockside development with food, retail and entertainment. We perform on the centre stage every Friday and Saturday night and have been there for 10 years. The entertainment area holds about 2000 people and while the tourist only sees us once, we have a huge local following who come to Eat Street precinct for some good food and entertainment on a regular basis and are “disappointed” every time they see our show.
Why is your show known as The Worst Show Ever?
When we started at Eat Street, we didn’t even have a name. So, one night in the dressing room we came up with the idea of The Worst Show Ever. Along with what we do on stage, it definitely is a point of difference by openly promoting that everyone will leave disappointed.
You recently did a pop-up performance on Cavill Avenue in Surfers Paradise. What do you love about these impromptu shows?
“We just love performing and those impromptu performances keep us fit and healthy. As you know there are a lot of acrobatic moves and high energy in our performance.
You also have a mission to raise money and awareness for mental health charity Beyond Blue, tell us how that motivates you?
Our mission statement at every show is to put a smile on everyone’s face and make them feel happy. Mental health is a real challenge in today’s world and members of our troupe all have a story of someone they know who has been affected. So, we are very passionate about putting a smile on everyone’s face. During our performance we mention our commitment to Beyond Blue, and we are proud to share with you that we have already raised over $15,000 from people who have watched and enjoyed our performance and supported us with donations.
By Dave ‘Scoop’ LAZARUS
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